Australia’s Space Ambitions-A Work in Progress

Space Diplomacy has emerged as a new foreign policy tool, but unlike the 20th century where space was a territory to be claimed and an arena of Cold War confrontations between the two superpowers each supported by their allies, 21st century has seen the emergence of space diplomacy as a new tool of cooperation and also confrontations between certain countries. The active maintenance of the space programmes, has become a way for the great powers to remain relevant and project enough power internationally by innovating new space technologies and launch capabilities. While scholars are debating about the new international space rules to be implemented to avoid conflict and misunderstanding, countries like Australia are joining the space race.

Characterised as a middle power by the commentators, Australia is a state with hard power characteristics under a superpower, which also has an ability to influence the global politics. But we have seen a slight shift in Australia's stance as a middle power when the country decided to establish, maintain and develop an active space agency and space policy. While Australia ranks as one of the world's most technically capable states, its individual military capacity and economic capabilities in the outer space are non-existent. It has become increasingly important for the countries to develop a thriving space based economic and legal framework which can support their space ambitions. In case of Australia, economic prosperity and strategic security can only be achieved if it can adapt and provide solutions to developing a new or changed space economy. This can be done by seeking aid externally - from increased involvement private sectors of the country or different countries along with the government. 

Domestically, having a space agency and a space programme opened new avenues for Australia. Australia is highly dependent on the space technologies such as remote sensing, navigation, communication and science for its agriculture and natural energy resources sectors. Universities, private organisations and government use satellite remote sensing data for environment studies, mapping and resource management. Meteorological satellites play a vital role in the smooth functioning of the weather information system, predicting sea surface temperatures and ocean current. In the document "Advancing Space Australian Civil Space Strategy 2019 – 2028" it states that position, navigation and timing, Earth observation, Communications technologies and services, and Space situational awareness and debris monitoring  would be prime focus areas along with developing partnerships with Canada, UK, France, UAE and  start collaborative projects with the US and the European Space Agency (ESA).

It has also proposed to allocate 'the $19.5 million Space Infrastructure Fund' and also step up infrastructure so that launch operations can be undertaken from Australia too. For that it proposes to change  the Space (Launches and Returns) Act 2018 for effective regulation and maintaining international standards in space research. Australia is also keen on joint international missions.

Outer space and its relevance have changed over the years. Technological developments have played a vital role in the international relations throughout the course of the history. These developments have aided military and intelligence, weapons of mass destructive capabilities and wider technical capabilities like cybersecurity. In terms of soft power, the technological developments in space have been conducive to create a state's image and reputation as more advanced and strong entity. Australia possess a strong scientific base with a disposal of skilled human labour for public research, world class universities and high-quality scientific publication with a capacity to incur development expenditure. A report published by OECD Scoreboard on Science, Technology and Innovation stated that Australia has four strong pillars - higher education, business, government and not-for-profit institutions - which can support highly skilled research and development initiatives. Australia has the power to support space programs and has the capacity to lead a successful space agency and a program.

Australia spends around $500 million every year on satellite programs but mostly oversees it and does not participate in the production and manufacturing process. While Australia has already purchased Intelsat and Inmarsat satellite system access, it has not participated in their spacecraft and assembly contracts. Other countries provide Australia with the meteorological and remote sensing imagery and navigational satellite services, but given the changing dynamics of global politics, especially during the ongoing pandemic, there are no certainties over continuation of these services or the future cost.

Australia's space agency would stabilise the funding for space related activities which earlier was non-existent. Further it would stimulate the domestic space economy and boost the technology and innovation sector. The space agency would also allow Australia to be in active leadership role in space activities. It would help strengthen its position in the international space programs and projects with allied and partner states. It would also limit its dependency-oriented approach to the satellite utilisation. The Australians could be ambitious and develop their own satellites and technologies to fight their unique problems like bushfire tracking and geological surveyance.

Space is now emerging as a new frontier, which is vast and unexplored. This makes it more prone to exploitation and power struggle to control it. Australia should therefore actively seek to secure its position in space and establishing a space agency is a step in that direction. The existence of the space agency would lead to the development of indigenous space capacities and resources which can help create a thriving sector, foster international cooperation and collaboration, exercise control over geographical sovereignty and security. Developing countries like India and Ethiopia are also in the process of strengthening their space programmes and agencies. India is constructing inexpensive rocket vehicles and mass deployment of nanosats to develop its satellite capacities for mapping and surveying crops and damages from natural disasters. India can prove to be a good space ally for Australia given that China's National Space Administration has sought to intensify its space exploration as a means of increasing its hard power capabilities. This has perturbed the already shaken geopolitical climate and has compelled the rapid growth of space 2.0 industry, where many states have intensified their civil and military space activities.

Given the intensification of the commercial ventures in space by US space companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX, it is safe to say that the race for space has just becomes more competitive with both private and public sectors aiming to increase their profits and power. In such a scenario, entry of Australia can definitely influence the policies of the other states who are the participants of the race to space control. But in order to emerge in the top ranks Australia will have to take resolute actions which can only be done when there is a unified space policy led by competent leadership. Australia needs to lead its space activities instead of participating in second hand space activities. Australian space agency needs to get its hands dirty and lead it own infrastructural projects (both hardware and software) instead of outsourcing it to the foreign countries. Ultimately, the success of the Australian space agency would depend on its mandate and national space policy guidelines and how well it is implemented. If Australia does not take under consideration the changing dynamics and take the reins of its own project, there is a great probability that it’ll be left behind.

Pic Courtesy-Tyler van der Hoeven at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are personal.)