Members of Australia's fledgling space industry are alarmed that lucrative opportunities are being lost because of a lack of government focus on the sector since last year’s election.
Almost five years after the establishment of the Australian Space Agency, several companies and industry figures are privately expressing concerns about the lack of momentum in establishing local projects.
Their warnings come as the head of NASA, administrator Bill Nelson, visits Canberra for expected meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic, before an address to the National Press Club on Thursday.
Industry sources say that, since arriving in Adelaide earlier this week, Mr Nelson has been urging the federal government to provide more funding for the sector, including possibly supporting an Australian astronaut to join NASA's space program.
Space Industry Association chief executive James Brown said Australia could not let the opportunity to put another Australian into space "pass us by".
"Australia has missed so many opportunities to get our people into space in recent decades," Mr Brown said.
"Now NASA is doing everything it possibly can to get an Australian astronaut into space. All it takes is Australian political will and some modest funding.
"Nothing will inspire a generation of Australians to study science more than having one of our own astronauts."
Space industry representatives, who have spoken to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, say they are increasingly frustrated at Mr Husic’s lack of focus on the area, and his refusal to complete a Space Strategic Update (SSU) promised by the Coalition last year.
On Wednesday, Mr Husic would not commit to further work on the SSU initiative, telling the National Press Club he would not "automatically" progress something announced by a former government.
"Just because a former government … has decided to do something, doesn’t mean I automatically, or us as a government, automatically takes that on board — in some cases, we’ll make those assessments case by case," Mr Husic told the Press Club.
"In terms of space, there will be a huge opportunity, for instance with the National Reconstruction Fund.
"I can assure you the National Reconstruction Fund will be open to support investment in space activity, particularly through the priority area of enabling capabilities, but could easily go into a lot of other areas as well."
'Jobs will be lost'
Australian Strategic Policy Institute's space policy expert, Malcolm Davis, said industry concerns about a lack of focus on the area were justified.
"The reality is that many in the Australian space sector are growing increasingly concerned at government’s lack of interest in space, and the National Space Plan (formerly the Space Strategic Update) is going nowhere at the moment," Dr Davis said.
"It’s a pretty shallow perspective that says just because a previous government launched a policy doesn’t mean we have to accept it, whilst ignoring the very real benefits of that policy.
"If the national space policy isn’t completed, then many Australian space companies may lose faith in this government's commitment to space and could simply relocate overseas.
"Jobs will be lost, our reputation damaged, and trust gone. We'll really struggle to get that trust back," Dr Davis warned.
Last month, the head of Australia’s Defence Space Command revealed the military was working on a plan to acquire "soft-kill" capabilities to take out enemy satellites without creating dangerous debris.
