BLUF
Officially launched on 22 March during the 2022 Air and Space Conference in Canberra, Australia’s Defence Space Command is designed primarily to ensure Australia has full access to Space.Summary
This article by Russell Boyce, writing for The Conversation, makes the following points:
- The Australian Government plans to spend around A$7 billion on space defence over the next decade.
- Many areas within defence are already engaged in space activities, but Defence Space Command will bring them together.
- Australia needs a distinct space command because Australia, like the rest of the world, depends on space-based technologies to provide communications, navigation, and timing*.
'Without accurate timekeeping, space navigation would be impossible. As NASA goes forward to the Moon with the Artemis missions, precise measurements of time are key to mission success.' NASA Navigation Tech Shows Timing Really Is Everything | NASA
References
Recent Runway Posts related to this topic:
- Australia and New Zealand should help their island neighbours get into space | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
- What is Australia's space division, and why is it in the military? | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)
References from the Web:
- Defence Space Commander | Royal Australian Air Force
- Space Domain | Royal Australian Air Force
- MAR 2022 Russia and China give Australia’s space commander the need for speed—ASPI
- MAR 2022 Defence Minister Peter Dutton flags future US-style Space Force for Australia—ABC
- MAR 2022 Australia launches Space Command division—Sky News
- MAR 2022 US says Australia an important ally in deterring space hostility from China, Russia—Canberra Times