Leolabs’ Terry van Haren pushes new Space Radar Project between Australia and US
A decorated former RAAF combat pilot is spearheading a joint US-Australia program for outer space that is vital to national security.
A decorated former RAAF combat pilot is spearheading a joint US-Australia push for a “neighbourhood watch” program for outer space, with a national security radar network to track threats over most of the Indo Pacific.
Former air commodore Terry van Haren spent much of his 35 years in the RAAF at the pointy end of operations, earning a Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership notably during fighter squadron missions in the Iraq War.
But he moved to the next frontier and was most recently the Federal Government’s appointed Air and Space Attache in Washington before retiring in May.
He is now spearheading a commercial radar enterprise, which he says will make Australia a space “surveillance superpower”.
The proposed Aussie Space Radar Project (ASRP) is a $240 million collaboration between the US and Australia, with $160m being funded by Silicon Valley headquartered LeoLabs.
The LeoLabs radar network tracks satellites and debris for commercial clients involved in the cluttered outer space to avoid collisions, as well as well defence.
“This technology is strategically vital to Australia’s and its allies’ national security and will provide a sovereign space surveillance capability for government and commercial enterprises that can track every object in every orbit in real-time in Australia’s sphere of interest,” Mr van Haren, who is LeoLabs Australia’s managing director said.
If successful in its bid through the Federal Government Modern Manufacturing Initiative scheme, LeoLabs’ would bring the manufacturing of its world-leading technology in modular space radar systems to Australia.
In doing so, it would create hundreds of skilled jobs particularly in the Hunter in NSW, Jerrabomberra on the ACT border and Dandenong in Victoria.
As part of the buy-in from the US, LeoLabs’ would also establish a first next-generation Low Earth Orbit (LEO) modular space radar in the Northern Territory and then build the world’s first commercial Deep Space Radar in northern Western Australia.
LeoLabs has signed an MOU with Gumatj Corporation and the Northern Territory Government to maintain and sustain the first of the two radars on Indigenous lands.
In 2017, the ADF and USAF had established a space-based intelligence and surveillance capability radar within the sensitive Harold E. Holt Naval Communications Station in North West Cape, but it was virtually outdated before it was operational.
Its key target was space debris but also tracking launches from the Chinese military base in Taiyuan in the Shanxi Province in North China from where it launches most of its satellites and tests intercontinental ballistic and prototype missiles.
Mr van Haren said LeoLabs’ network would maintain a neighbourhood watch over the Indo Pacific.
“The environment is consumed now with, Low Earth Orbit specially, a mix of commercial civil and military space operations so our aim is to track all objects there, providing transparency in space and report that to our customers,” Mr van Haren said.
“The US Space Force is one of our big customers. They buy our data and services and their main interest is high fidelity data on adversaries what they are doing, manoeuvring and those sorts of things,” he said.
Space Industry Association of Australia CEO James Brown said the LeoLabs Australia project was exciting and would propel Australia as a leader in the space situational awareness market.
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Originally published as Leolabs’ Terry van Haren pushes new Space Radar Project between Australia and US
