THE HIGH GROWTH POTENTIAL OF AUSTRALIA S SPACE ECONOMY

Transcription

1 THE HIGH GROWTH POTENTIAL OF AUSTRALIA S SPACE ECONOMY INTRODUCTION The downstream benefit of space-derived data to the Australian economy is estimated to be around AU$12-18B enhanced GDP by Globally, the space economy is estimated to be worth US$314B annually. Australia is well placed to leverage existing strengths and investments in space-related activity, to drive innovation and contribute to Australian leadership in the 21 st Century knowledge economy. In particular, there is a concentration of space industry and research expertise in the ACT and region and the ACT Government has committed to working with the sector to develop a Space Innovation Cluster to help build a significant national industry. The Government, however, and the sector, believe that there is a need for stronger national policy and program leadership to make the most of this opportunity. In particular, national policies should recognise the need to develop new 21 st Century industries as well as assisting existing industries to transition to the new economy. THE SPACE ECONOMY Space technologies and data are critical for a wider range of essential services including: telecommunications, emergency management, weather forecasting, banking, transport, agriculture, resources, environmental management and national security. Indeed, Australia s Satellite Utilisation Policy (2013) 1 identifies Earth Observation from Space (EOS), Satellite Communications (SATCOMM) and Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) as critical space-based technologies for our economic, societal and strategic well-being. The Policy also describes the need for Australia to participate in ensuring safe and secure access to these technologies, through provision of indigenous capability in Space Situational Awareness. This capability leverages Australia s strategic geographic location for ground-based space surveillance, and our world class space weather science. The Space Economy at a Glance estimates a conservative global space economy worth $US 256.2B in However, that report excludes ancillary services and some value added services such as fleet management or Earth Observation services. 1 The Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, Australia s Satellite Utilisation Policy, OECD, The Space Economy at a Glance 2014, OECD Publishing. dx.doi.org/ / en Page 1 of 5

2 In 2013 a report commissioned by Google 3 estimated that these geo-services generated between $150B and $270B in global revenue in 2013 alone. The Space Report values global space activity in 2013 at $US B. Regardless of the calculation, the global space economy is significant. There is no comprehensive report into the value of the overall space economy in Australia. However, two reports in recent years 5, 6 together lead to the estimate that the downstream benefit to the Australian economy will be around AU$12-18B enhanced GDP by Space-derived data makes a significant, and growing, contribution to the Australian economy. The opportunity for Australia to play a major role in the development and use of downstream applications, further enhance GDP, and access a larger share of the global space economy, is significant. THE CHANGING SPACE PARADIGM Traditionally, space-faring nations were those who either had the financial resources of a major world economy or those who pooled resources in multi-lateral space agencies to gain access to space. This was necessary, since the technologies to deliver space-derived services have traditionally required large, complex and extremely expensive spacecraft. However, several technology developments have led to a paradigm shift in the economics of spacecraft development. Advances in sensor, consumer electronics and communications technologies for terrestrial use have resulted in the ability to package highly sophisticated and capable payloads into tiny volumes with low power consumption, at affordable costs. At the same time, launch service providers now offer piggy-back rides into orbit commercially available at a tiny fraction of the total cost of the launch, and private industry have started to develop and provide novel launch services at greatly reduced prices. The net result is greatly reduced barriers to entry into the space market and the development of space technologies which are truly competitive and/or complementary to the large and expensive systems. Universities, SMEs and individual government departments are now routinely developing, launching and operating miniature satellites (1-100 kg classes). Furthermore, the timescales for their 3 Oxera, What-is-the-economic-impact-of-Geo-services?, Thinking/Publications/Reports/2013/What-is-the-economic-impact-of-Geo-services.aspx, Space Foundation, The Space Report 2014, 5 ACIL Tasman, The economic value of earth observation from space - a review of the value to Australia of Earth observation from space, Prepared for Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRC- SI) and Geoscience Australia, ACIL Allen Consulting, The value of augmented GNSS in Australia - an overview of the economic and social benefits of the use of augmented GNSS services in Australia, Prepared for Dept of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research & Tertiary Education, 2013 Page 2 of 5

3 development are greatly reduced with respect to traditional systems, accelerating the innovation / down-stream exploitation cycle. This has been recognised by some of our regional neighbours who have embarked on space ecosystem development to drive innovation, skills development and economic growth (e.g. Singapore). The already strong global space economy is thus poised for future growth as this transformation - towards space technologies that make economic and strategic sense for Australia to play an active role in takes place. Australia possesses many of the elements necessary to respond to and take advantage of the opportunities ahead for innovation, education, trade and investment, defence capability, and regional leadership. Australian players currently include Defence, Federal, State and Territory government agencies, industry and the space research community. Our space-related activities include the operation and support of communications satellites and ground stations, development of applications derived from EOS and PNT, contribution to international Space Situational Awareness efforts, development of niche technologies, and fundamental research that underpins all of these. According to the 2011 APAC Review of Current Australian Space Activities 7, an estimated 8,400 people are employed in Australia s space-related activities. A NATIONAL INDUSTRY LED FROM CANBERRA Much of this activity can be found in the ACT: Research and training sector: our universities include two of the most active in space related disciplines in Australia ANU and UNSW Canberra. Their research and innovation development includes: space engineering (including miniature satellite space mission skills and facilities), instrumentation, space physics, space propulsion, astronomy and astrophysics, Earth science, remote sensing and geospatial applications, laser physics, optics and photonics, material science, space dynamics and control, systems engineering, and more. The Federal Government and the ANU have invested heavily in spacecraft test facilities at the Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre, and UNSW Canberra is currently investing $10M over 5 years in developing capability and capacity for regular in-orbit space research and technology development. Industry: the world s leading aerospace and/or defence primes have a presence here - Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Airbus Defence & Space and Raytheon are headquartered in Canberra, while Boeing, Thales and BAE Systems have offices here. Several SMEs engaged in space-related work are also present in the ACT Electro Optic Systems (EOS), Nova Systems (incorporating Auspace), Geospatial Intelligence, Geoplex, Locata, CEA Technologies, Australian Scientific Instruments, Quintessence Labs, and SHOAL Group. 7 Asia Pacific Aerospace Consultants (APAC), A Review of Current Australian Space Activities, 2011 Page 3 of 5

4 EOS has invested over $100 million in space research and operational infrastructure for space situation awareness [SSA] in the ACT. This investment has led to the ACT hosting the only non-us sensor to be qualified for SSA operations by the US, and exports of this space technology are rapidly increasing with significant flow of contract awards to local entities such as ANU. EOS has selected the ACT region for relocation of its US production of space equipment to Australia. EOS has also contributed $17 million towards the establishment of a CRC - the Space Environment Research Centre (SERC) at Mount Stromlo. SERC is developing technologies to address the global issue of collisions between space debris and an estimated $2 trillion of space-based infrastructure. SERC consolidates formerly independent research efforts on this issue. National and international partners include Electro Optic Space Systems, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (US), Optus Satellite Systems, Australian National University, RMIT University and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (Japan). Government : research facilities with key expertise include CSIRO (Land & Water, some Astronomy and Space Science, and the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC)), Data61 (formerly NICTA), Geoscience Australia, National Computational Infrastructure (which supports a range of programs in space science, astronomy, climate science, Earth Observation and geophysics, and hosts the Geoscience Data Cube). Infrastructure: this includes the ground stations operated for NASA at CDSCC, the spacecraft development and test facilities of ANU s Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre (AITC), the complementary spacecraft facilities, satellite operation ground station and space surveillance telescopes at UNSW Canberra, National Computational Infrastructure, and Electro Optics Systems Laser Ranging Facility. As an indication of capability and the market potential, the AITC has supported in excess of $118 million worth of astronomy and space instrumentation projects, including $18 million in export contracts since 2006 and is waiting on the outcome of another $14 million export contract. Business support: ACT Government programs to encourage and develop commercial activity, the Canberra Innovation Network (including programs such as Entry 29, Griffin Accelerator, KILN incubator, Youth Business Connect, SME Growth Program), and access to local venture capital (Australian Capital Ventures Limited, Capital Angels, ANU Connect Ventures). National and international network: including existing space-related relationships and collaborations across Australia and globally particularly North America, Europe, Japan, and countries in the ASEAN region - with universities, industry, industry associations, learned academies, government Page 4 of 5

5 agencies and government departments. ACT space leadership played a key role in winning the bid to bring the world s largest space conference, International Astronautical Congress, to Australia in 2017, and leads Australia s bid to bring the largest space research conference COSPAR to Australia in SUMMARY The ACT Government believes that there is currently an opportunity for Australia to leverage its existing strengths in the space economy to develop the critical mass necessary to gain a larger share of this important and rapidly growing industry. While states and territories can play a role in the development of the industry, it is our view that a truly national industry requires national leadership. To realise this opportunity, the ACT Government calls on the Commonwealth Government to recognise the space economy as an Industry Growth Centre and to work with all the states and territories to prioritise the development of the sector. Prepared in consultation with the following organisations: Page 5 of 5