Final frontier: Defence joins race with new space division
Australia is assembling a new space division with officers from across the military to protect satellites and other critical assets from potential attack.
Photo: NASA
The space division will be established within the Royal Australian Air Force headquarters in Canberra early next year.
Chief of Air Force Mel Hupfeld said guaranteeing access to the “contested domain” of space was becoming increasingly important.
“However this does not mean that defence encourages the militarisation of space,” he said on Wednesday.
“All space operations are conducted consistent with international and domestic legal obligations.”
Hupfeld said satellite technologies were used daily to gather information about the weather, navigation and geospatial intelligence.
“Defence is delivering capabilities including space domain awareness, sovereign controlled satellite communications and space-based Earth observation, and navigation,” he said.
Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts will head the new division.
“To reach for the stars and actually get there is a phenomenal feeling,” she said.
“As an aero-space engineer I have always been fascinated by space – the ultimate high-ground.”
