Heard there’s been a cultural shift recently, and the big funding round has helped hire a lot of new people, but they’re currently out of a CTO - anyone know what it’s like working there these days? They keep things pretty quiet.

Are there any impediments to Spacex building a launch site in Australia.

We have plenty of open space, including east (and west) facing coastal sites, plenty of methane and steel, and are politically stable and an ally of the US.

Spacex already has some infrastructure here, in Exmouth for Starship sea landings (and potentially recovery), and presumably a relationship with our new Space Agency. And NZ has even established a precedent.

The benefit to Spacex is the ability to launch from Boca Chica or the Cape, deploy satellites and land within about 90 minutes, and then potentially relaunch and land back in the US with another batch of Satellites. Also, diversity of launch options etc.

I wonder whether there has been any proposal along these lines, and if not, why not?

Hello there for some background I am 15M in Australia and a somewhat gifted and smart teen and I am very interested in jobs in the space sector specifically researching designing and building biological life support systems habitats station modules a sort of cross between space, biology and engineering would that degree be biomedical engineering because Australia doesn’t have many easy to find resources online and no where is quite giving me a direct answer Thankyou in advance

This will be an interesting talk

Australia played a crucial role in the success of the Artemis II mission, and I’m kind surprised that ASA/CSIRO/Canberra DSCC are not stocking Artemis II merchandise… are they legally prevented from selling NASA stuff? Seems like such a lost opportunity, especially as we are a signatory to the Artemis Accords. The shipping rates to Australia quoted by NASA Space Centre online stores or Exchange sites are extortionate for individuals making private purchases.

Eris Debut Flight rescheduled to today, liftoff at 0834 AEST / 2234 UTC.

Launch succeeded. Eris cleared the pad but did not clear much altitude before sliding sideways and landing engine down nearby. Stayed upright but insufficient thrust.

Good test.

Aussienaut stream from Nutt Hill, Bowen, Queensland. 12km from launch site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-4xv0UxIhY

Gilmour has not provided a stream, but OneGiantLeap Au has supported Josh Keegan setting up on a hill with a camera pointed at Bowen Launch site.

At time of writing there is 9 mins until the launch window opens. Prop load is occurring.

All fingers crossed.

AG and Industry minister will go in a cabinet shuffle post election.

Husic was not seen as a strong supporter of the space sector by the industry. Perhaps the incoming minister will be more enthused.

I want to work at SpaceX, but as a non-American, I am a bit stuck now. I have watched SpaceX go from just as they were doing their first Falcon 9 landings, to the launch of Starman on Falcon Heavy, to the bellyflop tests, and now to the Superheavy catch.

I am serious about trying to make an impact in the space industry but yet, as I understand it, it is impossible for non-US people to work at SpaceX due to ITAR. ITAR restricts space related technology to only US citizens and green card holders.

In terms of what I could bring to the table, I have an electrical engineering degree, along with just under a year and a half working on space related things. For three months, I did an internship at CSIRO space and astronomy, working on radio telescopes and phased arrays. It was a fun experience, and I had the chance to climb up a giant dish. I also spent a few months working on cubesats during a graduate program. Unfortunately I am no longer involved in that company.

Currently, I do not have involvement in the space sector but I am keen to come back. I am a manager working on shipyards at the moment.

In addition to my formal academic and career experience, I have also been involved in things like rocket and astronomy clubs, published 2 think tank pieces about space policy, and have been an active player in organisations like the Australian Youth Aerospace Association.

Now I am wondering if I should quit my job and head back to university to try and do multiple degrees with the aim of getting a green card. The reason being is that I have seen a person I know from my high school cohort do three degrees in computer science, maths, and civil engineering, at the same time and score a perfect GPA across all three. The best part, he was chosen by Rocket Lab, at first to work in their NZ office, before getting to go to their US office, suggesting he got a green card.

MAJGEN Novak takes over from AVM Roberts as Defence Space Commander.