AUSTRALIAN SPACE ACTIVITIES
Ian J. Barton
CSIRO Marine Research, PO Box
1538, Hobart, Tasmania 7053, Australia
Phone: +61 3 62325481, Fax: +61 3 62325123, Email: ian.barton@marine.csiro.au
November 23, 1998
Abstract
Australia has a wide involvement in all forms of space activity ranging from ground-based exploration of our solar system and beyond to the development and construction of satellite instruments for earth observation. Australian scientists and institutes are key players in the international cooperation which flourishes with the joint use of space for scientific research and applications. In the past, our joint programs with major global space agencies have ensured that Australia had access to, and applied, the data provided through these international channels. Although much of our past activity has hinged on this international collaboration we are now at a stage where certain components of our space program are under development within Australia. These include the development of launchers (in a modest way), launch sites, satellite instrumentation, and the necessary industrial base required to support these activities. At the same time, the wider Australian community are becoming more persistent users of satellite data in their everyday activities.
1 EARLY HISTORY
Australia's involvement in space started over forty years ago when the two European consortia ESRO (the European Space Research Organisation) and ELDO (the European Launcher Development Organisation) operated from the Woomera launch site in the state of South Australia. During that period, 1955 to 1970, Woomera was the second largest launch and tracking facility in the Western hemisphere. Also during that time, in 1967, Australia became the third country to launch its own satellite, WRESAT, from national territory.
During 1970 the European organisations transferred their research operations to Europe and their launch facility to Kourou in French Guiana. At that time Australia declined an offer to continue association with the European programs and we concentrated our space research on ground-based activities and the development of applications of space-based data.
In the field of space communications Australia has maintained a strong interest, driven by the need to service a large, relatively unpopulated, land mass which has much to gain from space-based communications. Initially Australia was a founding member of INTELSAT (1964) and INMARSAT (1979) and now maintains three national communications satellites (AUSSAT) in geostationary orbit.
In ground-based programs Australia has contributed much in the fields of ionospheric physics, radio astronomy, and the use of high altitude balloons in a variety of research programs. In many cases these programs have been driven by the natural advantages of our position in the southern hemisphere, as well as the existence of a strong Antarctic research program.
During the development of the AUSSAT program it became evident that Australian industry lacked the high-technology skills associated with the design and construction of space hardware. Thus in the mid-1980s several events started Australia along a new road in space through participation in international and national space programs. An Australian Space Office was formed within the Department of Science and Technology and the national research agency, CSIRO, opened an Office of Space Science and Applications (COSSA). Through the efforts of these two agencies Australia re-started its involvement in the development of space hardware. At the same time there was a realisation that Australia had much to gain from the remote sensing of our land and ocean surfaces from artificial satellites, and this resulted in the development of several new data reception stations. This expansion of activities has continued through to today and now Australia is on the verge of once again developing its own satellite system for launch in two years time.
2 LAUNCH ACTIVITIES
Australia has several attributes that are essential for the development of a satellite launching site. These include a proximity to the equator, a large unpopulated area down-range, political stability, and supporting high-technology industries. It is these attributes which recently drove several attempts to develop an operational launch site on Australian territory. Cape York was one of the potential sites - but at present plans to develop this site have been suspended. There is, however, a move to reopen the Woomera launch site over the coming years. Kistler Aerospace has signed an agreement with the Australian Government to proceed with the launch of re-useable Russian K-1 rockets from this site. [http://www.kistleraerospace.com/news/index.html]
At the same time the Australian Space Research Institute (ASRI) has an ambitious program to launch a series of rockets developed in Australia. This Institute is a non-profit organisation of local enthusiasts who have managed to develop a realistic program through the support of local industries, academic institutions and government. Their rocket development program, the AUSROC series, has four components. The first rocket AUSROC-I was successfully launched in 1989 and took a 25 kg payload to a height of 3 km. This rocket was 2.6 m in length and used liquid fuels. AUSROC-II was successfully launched in 1995 at the second attempt. The remainder of the program, AUSROC-III and -IV is under development. The former will have the capability of delivering a 100 kg payload to a height of 500 km using liquid oxygen and kerosene fuels, while the latter will be able to place a 30 kg payload into a low earth orbit. [http://asri.cossa.csiro.au/ausroc/]
ASRI are also involved in the development of a SCRAMJET capability at the University of Queensland. Scramjets rely on the supersonic ingestion of oxygen as the oxidant in the middle stages of the transfer from the surface to space. The program plans to use ramjet technology with an aircraft-assisted launch to place satellites into a low earth orbit.
3 SPACE HARDWARE
The US Shuttle program provided the opportunity for Australia's re-entry into the international space arena. Two markedly different programs have used the Shuttle to carry out space experiments. In the first of these Dr Leon Dittenfas carried out two Shuttle experiments investigating the effect of zero gravity on the coagulation of red blood cells. The other project, ``Endeavour'', used the "Get-Away Special" GAS-CAN opportunity to test an Australian-built far-ultraviolet detector system developed for the Fuse-Lyman project. Two flights were made and the results have confirmed the success of the detector design. Unfortunately the Fuse-Lyman project is now on hold, so the detector system is yet to be incorporated into a full space-based UV telescope.
During 1984 Australia started a strong liaison with the United Kingdom and ESA through the ATSR series of instruments. CSIRO scientists had been involved in the early conceptual design of the first Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) and the UK were looking for some extra support for the program. To Australia it seemed like a good opportunity to participate in a valuable international program. For the first ATSR Australia provided the digital electronics unit for the flight model instrument as well as some support for the science program and other components of the flight instrument. Australia also provided valuable support for ATSR product validation as well as the development of data application techniques. These are further discussed below. For ATSR-2, Australia provided the focal plane assembly and the Electronic Ground Support Equipment (EGSE). Both ATSR and ATSR-2 are now in space on-board ERS-1 and ERS-2, and both are supplying valuable data for global climate research programs.
For the third instrument in this series, the Advanced ATSR (AATSR) Australia has provide one third of the total funding for this program. The remaining funds are supplied by the UK Department of the Environment. The AATSR system has been built and fully assembled and is now undergoing thermal vacuum testing in the UK. The instrument will soon be integrated onto the ENVISAT platform for a launch in the year 2000.
Australian scientists and industry have developed an instrument for measuring surface pressure from a satellite. This is an important measurement for forecasting the weather in southern Australia as most of our weather emanates from the southern oceans where very few reliable meteorological measurements are available. The satellite system is based on sampling the oxygen A-band near 760 nm to measure the path-length of oxygen in the atmosphere beneath the satellite. The amount of oxygen is directly related to the surface pressure. The instrument relies on observing the structure of the A-band in the sunlight reflected from the ocean surface using an accurate interferometer. A prototype instrument has been constructed and successfully flown on a research aircraft. The results indicate that surface pressure can be estimated with an accuracy of 2-3 hPa depending on the view geometry and the availability of supporting measurements of tropospheric aerosol amounts. Further development of a space-borne instrument is now dependent on support from international meteorological agencies.
Australia has had a long history in the development of imaging spectrometers for ground-based and airborne applications. This expertise is now being applied to the development of a space-borne imaging spectrometer through the ARIES project. This project is now in the final stages of funding approval which includes many international investors. The instrument will provide contiguous spectral coverage between 400 and 2500 nm with a spectral resolution of 20 nm at the shorter wavelengths and 32 nm at the longer wavelengths. The spatial resolution is between 10 and 30 m , and a swath width of 15 km will provide a revisit time of 7 days using the capability of steering off-nadir by up to 30 degrees. Details of the ARIES mission can be found at http://www.cossa.csiro.au/ARIES/index.htm.
Australia has plans to launch its own small satellite to celebrate the centenary of Federation in 2001. This satellite, ``FEDSAT'', is being developed by a new Co-operative Research Centre for Satellite Systems and will be a low cost micro-satellite, conducting communications, space science, remote sensing and engineering experiments. The FedSat-1 mission will give Australian scientists and engineers valuable data about the space environment, as well as experience in space engineering and in practical applications of space technologies. The satellite will weigh around 50 kg and be approximately a 50 cm cube. The payload will include several experiments: a magnetometer to measure electrical currents and perturbations in the Earth's magnetic field and a communications package, and will provide a test-bed for the space qualification of newly-developed solar panels, a GPS receiver, and on-board processing modules. The communications unit will test satellite-to-satellite communication, carry out experiments in operating multi-satellite Low Earth Orbit constellations, test Ka-band transmission of data, carry out digital signal processing experiments in multi-media data transmission, and assist in communications and data relay in remote areas including Antarctica.
Australian industry has also developed several
state-of-the-art airborne systems for collecting high spatial
resolution data over the large uninhabited tracts of land in the
Australian interior. These systems will prove to be most useful
in the future by assisting with the calibration and validation
of products from the new series of earth-observing instruments
due for launch in the coming years.
4 SATELLITE RECEPTION STATIONS
Australia has two operational X-band receivers for collecting data from earth-observing satellites. The main station is at Alice Springs in the centre of the continent, and provides full national coverage including all the coastline and some hundreds of kilometres off-shore. The second station is located near Hobart on the southern island state of Tasmania and provides the capability of receiving data obtained over the southern oceans as well as the Antarctic coastline to the south of Australia. This second station also provides full coverage for New Zealand and other south-western Pacific islands. These two stations receive data from a variety of satellites including LANDSAT, SPOT, ERS-1, ERS-2, and RADARSAT. The Alice Springs station also receives data from the NOAA meteorological satellite NOAA-14 during the afternoon pass.
Australia also has a network on S-band stations used for receiving data from the NOAA orbiting satellites. These are located in Perth, Darwin, Townsville, Melbourne, Hobart, and Casey base in Antarctica. The stations in Hobart, Perth, and Townsville also receive ocean colour data from the recently-launched SeaWiFS satellite.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology receive valuable meteorological data from the Japanese Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS) which is located above the equator at 140 degrees of longitude.
The Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex at Tidbinbilla is one of NASA's three deep space communications sites. This station has been providing valuable assistance to many missions including the two Voyager spacecraft that are now at the extremities of the solar system.
Australia also has several other antenna systems used for astronomical purposes including VLBI experiments. The Australia Telescope National Facility provides a synthetic aperture antenna over a baseline of 6 km. There are also plans to use this system with the space-based RADIOASTRON and VSOP antennae for VLBI investigations of deep space.
5 REMOTE SENSING - DATA APPLICATIONS
Australia is a large country with a small population so there are many benefits to be obtained from the application of remotely sensed data from both aircraft and space. For this reason Australian scientists have developed many innovative techniques to gain the maximum benefit from such data. With the recently gained responsibility for our Exclusive Economic Zone stretching to 200 nautical miles from the coast, Australian territory has been doubled. We are thus now developing further techniques to assist with the management of our marine resources as well as those on the land.
The Bureau of Meteorology is probably the largest user of data from satellites. Daily data from the GMS and NOAA satellites are ingested into numerical models of the national weather to provide accurate forecasts for the Australian community. The most valuable data are the sounding information from the TOVS package which allows estimates of the vertical water vapour and temperature profiles over the entire continent.
Following a review of its remote sensing programs in 1995 the CSIRO established an Earth Observation Centre (EOC) within its Office of Space Science and Applications. This Centre, which includes a core staff in Canberra plus others from participating CSIRO divisions, has been active in coordinating generic research activities across the research organisation. This includes the development of a new processing system for AVHRR data which will be installed at all Australian reception stations. This will ensure that consistent data products are generated, standard data formats are used, and best-practice algorithms are used in data analysis. Other tasks coordinated by the EOC are in the fields of calibration/validation, bidirectional reflectance distribution functions, hyperspectral data analyses, and data systems management. The broad EOC community also represents the Australian community on many international committees.
AVHRR data from the NOAA satellites are collected in several locations and are used for research and operational applications. The data provide information on ground temperature, cloud coverage, and vegetation cover which assist in fishing, agriculture, land management, mapping and geology.
Higher spatial resolution data from SPOT and LANDSAT are used in many similar applications over the land and coastal regions. These data provide great assistance in the management of resources in remote areas. Data are received at one of the two X-band stations and are then made available through commercial distributors.
Australian scientists at CSIRO and the Bureau
of Meteorology have been active in the development of a system
for the detection of volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere which
acts as a hazard to aviation. A prototype system is under test
using AVHRR data received at the Darwin S-band station. The technique
relies on the spectral characteristics of silicon dioxide which
is a major component of volcanic debris.
6 GROUND SITES AND DATA VALIDATION
Australian institutes play a major international role in the calibration and validation of satellite data through the operation of a series of ground test sites. Many of these sites are supported by the CSIRO EOC. Data are made available to the international space agencies to assist in the characterisation of their satellite instruments as well as providing local validation data for Australian users.
An altimeter test site which is located in Bass Strait has been vital in correcting errors in the data provided by the Topex/Poseidon altimeter. This site is the main altimeter validation site in the southern hemisphere and ensures that the data provided by all satellite altimeters for use in physical oceanography are of the highest quality.
A range of land-based sites has been established over large uniform areas of the Australian interior. These sites are suitable for several purposes including instrument calibration, product validation, and research into processes at the earth's surface. Sites near Alice Springs, Hay, and Broome are continually monitored with a suite of meteorological instruments including visible and infrared devices. Other sites in the Strezlecki Desert and at Lake Argyle are regularly monitored by aircraft and ground-based instruments on a campaign basis.
Two test sites have been established over
our coastal oceans. Commercial ferries have been instrumented
with devices for measuring water temperature and ocean colour,
and these systems provide daily data for comparison with the satellite-derived
products. Other marine data are collected using several research
vessels which operate regularly in Australian waters.
The hyper-spectral and high spatial resolution communities have
also established a number of test sites and these are being characterised
using airborne and satellite instruments.
7 RESEARCH PROGRAMS
Many national research programs rely heavily on data provided from satellite instruments. Meteorological and climate research use regional and global data sets to initialise and validate the performance of the numerical models which are an essential component of research in these areas. Data are either obtained from the direct reception of data within the country or are provided by the international space agencies. Data are also used in process studies of phenomena occurring at the surface, within the atmosphere, or at the air-surface interface.
High spatial resolution data received over the past twenty years have provided valuable information on land cover change and the impact of man's activities on the Australian vegetation and landscape. Much of this work is now coordinated by the CSIRO EOC. The effects of increased salinity, erosion, grass fires, and deforestation on the Australian continent have all been monitored using satellite data.
Satellite data are also valuable for marine research in fisheries, oceanography, resource management, and off-shore mining. Data from satellite altimeters are providing information on changes in sea surface height which is directly related to ocean currents. When combined with other satellite data giving surface temperature and winds an accurate picture of the sea surface state is possible. This information can then be used in the development and management of marine industries including fisheries, ocean routing, and search and rescue. One medium-term aim of the oceanographic community is to develop a numerical model of the Australian EEZ for the management of our marine resources. Such a model will eventually rely heavily on the ingestion of real-time data from environmental remote-sensing satellites.
Australia has responsibility for a large portion of the Antarctic continent and maintains three bases within our territory. The management and research tasks are made much easier with the use of modern remote sensing methods. Due to the prevalence of clouds the use of microwave remote sensing provides much of the required data. Synthetic aperture radars give a high spatial resolution picture of the solid continent as well as the distribution of sea ice. The detection of leads and polynyas assists with ship navigation in polar waters and other instruments provide information about the nature of the frozen surface of the continental ice cap.
8 INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Australian institutes, both research and industrial, maintain strong links with the international community in aeronautical and space research and development. The series of ATSR instruments has provided an opportunity for Australian industry to participate in one the most ambitious space programs in the international arena. Other space hardware developments (e.g. the successful Shuttle deployments mentioned above) have also involved participation in international programs.
Australian participation in the science programs of the international and national space agencies has been many and varied. In many cases this participation is gained through a response to an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) released by the space agency. For example, thirteen Australian scientists were successful respondents to ESA's first call for scientific application of data from their ERS-1 satellite. Several more ERS-1 research programs have also been approved by ESA through subsequent AOs for both ERS-1 and ERS- 2 data applications.
Australian scientists are participating in research programs developed through NASA and NASDA in the USA and Japan respectively. An Australian scientist was a lead investigator on the successful LITE mission which flew on the Shuttle some five years ago. This experiment demonstrated the many benefits to be gained by flying an earth-viewing laser in space. Several scientists are members of the science teams for different EOS instruments. Australians are also hosting two NASA-approved EOS Interdisciplinary Investigations. One is based on the exploitation of atmospheric sounding data for weather forecasting, while the second is focussed on the use of EOS satellite data in the management of Australian marine resources.
During this year we have also seen the second Australian-born astronaut fly on one of NASA's Shuttle flights.
Australia is a major participant in the deliberations of the international Committee on Earth Observing Satellites (CEOS). As well as providing regular input through active participation in the two working groups of this committee we are represented by CSIRO at the Plenary level. CSIRO provided the Chair for the Committee during 1996, and in the same year hosted the 10th CEOS Plenary meeting in Canberra.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Much of the information used in this short paper has been provided by a variety of individuals who have provided detailed input and by a search of the Internet. Due to the limited space allowed for this paper it has not always been possible to reproduce all detailed information provided, and the author apologises for this editing of the input. The author also apologises for any omissions which may have occurred. Every attempt has been made to collect all Australian space activities together in this report - but omissions will obviously occur. Finally the author would like to thank all those who regularly maintain the WWW sites which have provided much of the information used here. A list of WWW sites is included in the references.
References
"An integrated national space program", Report by the expert panel, 15 June 1992. Australian Commonwealth Department of Industry, Technology, and Commerce, 1992: ISBN 0 644 25015 1, 103 pp.
"Australian space activities to the year 2000", Edited by M. Banister and G. Harris, CSIRO Office of Space Science and Applications, 1992: ISBN 0 643 04763 8, 219 pp.
Graetz R.D., Fisher R.A., Wilson M.A., and
Campbell S. 1998,
"Looking back: The changing face of the Australian continent,
1972-1992",
COSSA Publication no. 042 (revised edition, 1998), CSIRO Office
of Space Science & Applications, Canberra, Australia.
Internet WWW sites:
http://www.cossa.csiro.au
[COSSA home page]
http://www.kistleraerospace.com/news/index.html {[Kistler Aerospace]
http://asri.cossa.csiro.au/ [Australian Space Research Institute]
http://www.cossa.csiro.au/ARIES/index.htm [Australian Resource Information and Environment Satellite - ARIES]
http://www.atnf.csiro.au/ [Australian Telescope National Facility - ATNF]
http://www.marine.csiro.au/~lband/ [Marine applications of satellite data]
http://www.crcss.csiro.au/ [Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems]
http://msowww.anu.edu.au/endeavour/index.html [Endeavour Space Program]
http://www.atsr.rl.ac.uk/ [ATSR information]
http://www.eos.co.uk/ceos-calval [Links to CEOS home pages]