UTAS leading the way in space industry growth

THE University of Tasmania is leading the way with the state’s involvement in the space industry. A new communications antenna, smaller but similar looking to one featured in the film The Dish, is up and running, helping satellites and spacecraft avoid each other in space.

The Parkes dish in NSW was of course famous for its role in the 1969 Moon landing, where it helped relay live television signals around the Earth so the world could witness the momentous event.

Tassie’s new dish is not that famous yet, but its role in protecting billion-dollar satellites and spacecraft in orbit is very important, especially in southern skies.

Developed in partnership with the Australian Space Agency, the $2m antenna was funded jointly by the Australian government’s Space Infrastructure Fund (SIF) and the university, with the investment designed to help grow the Australian space sector and advance national space infrastructure.

The great bit about the story is that it will be operated by a highly skilled team from the University of Tasmania.

In fact, the university is a leader in space sciences, being the only university in the world that operates a continental-scale array of antennas.

And that’s something Tasmanians should be really proud of.

Professor Simon Ellingsen, Dean of School of Natural Sciences said it was the southernmost antenna of its kind in the world.

“In the past, we have only been able to listen to transmissions from spacecraft, but now we are able to transmit messages through radio frequency communications to spacecraft, sending commands as well as receiving data.”

It’s a great feather in the cap of the university and the state to be leading in this way.

It also should remind Tasmanians about how important the university is to the state.

UTAS is leading in so many areas and showing the world what can be done from a little island state at the bottom of Australia.