Our city in fast lane as cosmic race powers up
ARE space and the Gold Coast the next frontier when it comes to how to replace mining and manufacturing in Australia?
The newly appointed Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Federal McPherson MP Karen Andrews, certainly thinks so.
The planets aligned on the Coast this week as industry, universities, research agencies, governments and space aficionados gathered to chart a new course in the country’s space history at the 18th Australian Space Research Conference in Surfers Paradise.
The conference, which opened on Monday, is organised by the National Space Society of Australia and the National Committee for Space and Radio Science.
Ms Andrews said global space activity was gathering momentum, marked by a growing stream of new industry players.
“It is a seismic shift in an industry that used to be dominated by billion-dollar government programs,” she said.
When it comes to launching craft into space, Queensland and the Gold Coast are in the box seat. Thanks to our close proximity to the equator, rockets can maximise the planet’s rotational velocity and save on fuel to reach orbit.
It is one of the reasons brothers James and Adam Gilmour chose the Coast as the location for their Pimpama start-up, Gilmour Space Technologies, in 2012.
“We’re in the middle of a worldwide space renaissance and Australia – Queensland in particular – is primed to take flight,” said chief executive Adam Gilmour.