Space Inquiry to hear from Australia’s First Astronaut

Dr Paul Scully-Power, Australia’s first astronaut, will appear before the House Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources for its Inquiry into Developing Australia’s Space Industry. Meeting in Sydney today, Dr Scully-Power will share his experiences and insights into what he describes as the ‘next world revolution’.

The Chair of the Committee, the Hon Barnaby Joyce MP said ‘the Committee is very excited to be hearing from Dr Scully-Power and his ideas around ‘new space’, new technologies, and new opportunities for people to be involved in the space industry. Space related technologies were once considered those of the future – robots, drones, remote sensors, and artificial intelligence – but are very much where we are now. For Australia to be competitive, we need to not only foster these technologies and their applications but ensure we have people with the right skills and expertise to make it happen.’ Mr Joyce said.

Other witnesses appearing in Sydney will include Saber Astronautics, Solar Space Technologies, Moonshot, and the Space Industry Association of Australia.

The Committee will also hold a hearing in Armidale tomorrow. Mr Joyce said, ‘there is so much potential for our rural and regional areas to benefit from and get involved in Australia’s space sector. This includes the links between our regional industries and the space sector, the application of space related technology and infrastructure to agriculture, health and telecommunications; and of course the uptake of regional education and training to better equip young people to build careers in this industry.’

The Committee will conduct a site visit of the University of New England’s SMART Farm Innovation Centre to see how satellites, sensors and software are being used in agriculture and farm management.

Details of the hearings are:

Date: Monday 19 April 2021

Time: 9:00am – 3:00pm

Venue: SMC Conference and Function Centre, Corinthian Room, 66 Goulburn St, Sydney.

Date: Tuesday 20 April 2021

Time: 9:00am – 1:15pm

Venue: University of New England, Education Room 224, Arts Road, Armidale.

Programs for both public hearings can be found on the Committee’s website.

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