The final frontier? Watch this space

By the middle of this decade, Australia’s nascent space sector could be transformed into one of the most innovative in the world.

Former RAAF fighter pilot Terry van Haren spent three decades in the military. Picture: AAP

By the middle of this decade, Australia’s nascent space sector could be transformed into one of the most innovative in the world.

At least that’s the hope of former RAAF fighter pilot Terry van Haren, who spent three decades in the military including a period as the Space Attache in Washington. Now he’s running the local operations of LeoLabs, a Silicon Valley company that supplies commercial radar tracking services.

“Space used to be government-controlled either on the defence or the agency side. There was very little going on up there until the turn of the century,” he said. Today, that had completely changed.

“A new economy is being formed in space as we speak,” he said.

LeoLabs is just one of a slew of space-oriented firms opening in Australia. In January, Air Vice-Marshal Catherine Roberts will become the RAAF’s inaugural space division chief.

Even NASA wants to talk about how the US can collaborate with Australia. On Wednesday, NASA administrator Bill Nelson is scheduled to talk about commercial opportunities in the sector at a forum organised by former US ambassador Joe Hockey, now the chairman of consultancy Bondi Partners.

Mr van Haren likens the work of LeoLabs to a “collision avoiding service”. Through subscription programs, LeoLabs seeks to be a consultancy-like service to space companies looking to launch rockets and satellites. For now its biggest customer is Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The company’s Australian team has six staff, mostly ex-­Defence personnel, but plans to grow the operation to 35 as it completes its Aussie Space Radar Project, which will manufacture radars locally.

While LeoLabs monitors everything from debris to rocket bodies and satellites it also keeps an eye on other nations.

“We also monitor government activity occurring. Of course, in the military world there’s a lot of things going on, too,” he said. “We can also track new objects in orbit and we also provide that sort of information to Defence so they can capture irresponsible behaviours in orbit.”

The demand for LeoLabs is expected to grow as the cost of launching a satellite falls significantly. Helping cut the cost of getting to space is Queensland-based operation Gilmour Space Technologies.

Run by ex-banker Adam Gilmour, the venture capital-funded business creates low-cost space launch vehicles. Mr Gilmour says his approach is similar to that of Elon Musk.

“Musk says one of the tricks of the trade was to keep the requirements as minimal as possible and that’s what we do,” he said.

Gilmour Space Technologies has contracts with Fleet Space Technologies and Space ­Machines Company, two other Australian space companies.

The launch of its first product was expected in March, he said.

“Our second product is creating a standard vehicle to carry the vast majority of sensors into space. Basically, we can give you the whole thing; we can give you the vehicle and take you to space,” Mr Gilmour said. Space technology had made the lives of every Australian significantly easier, he added.

“We use it every day from taking money out of ATMs to searching for tomorrow’s weather forecast. A good whack of our phone calls also go through satellites in space,” he said.

Mr Gilmour and Mr van Haren says Australia will be able to capitalise on the space market in just a few years.

“There’s great commercial opportunities but there’s also a need in the early stages for a ­decent amount of government backing,” Mr Gilmour said.