Space agency launch fires up Chinese

EXECUTIVES from major Chinese robotics and technology companies say Australia’s new national space agency will provide excellent opportunities for engagement and co-operation between the two countries.

Following the Federal Government’s confirmation yesterday that an Australian space agency will be created, Justin Gong, co-founder of drone manufacturer Xaircraft, said China would jump at the chance to engage with an Australian space program.

Mr Gong, a global flight control system designer and creator of unmanned aerial vehicles, said the timing was right for greater involvement between Australia and China on space research.

He said China viewed the sector in business terms rather than as a competition between nations.

Mr Gong said an Australian division of Xaircraft that sold drones to the agricultural industry was already eyeing a potential listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Bruce Ren, the chief strategy officer at top Chinese robotics group UBTech, said China saw its space program as a national priority and Australia was far closer than other established players.

“China and Australia share an innovation outlook, we are in the same time zone and China has been investing heavily in space technology,” he said. China spends about $2.5 billion a year on its space program after it became the third country to launch a human into space in 2003 and has been expanding its space program ever since.

Australia by contrast has until this week’s announcement been one of only a handful of countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development without a national space agency in an industry expected to be worth $330 billion.