Abandoning our own satellite, we opt for Landsat

Australia has formally joined the US-led Landsat Next satellite programme in a humiliating endpoint to out abandonment of an indigenous Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) R&D development.

Developing our own EOS was a victim of cuts meted out to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources in the first Chalmers budget, cuts which shocked the science and space industry communities.

It was envisaged in the National Space Mission for Earth Observation (NSMEO) programme that we build four satellites that would be launched between 2028 and 2033 to access to earth observation data.

Such a programme would have honoured the Defence Strategic Review which called for a ‘framework(s) within a whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach to guide the development of the space domain, including the policy authorities required’.

Now the Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have signed a bilateral statement at the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) officially joining Australia to the Landsat Next Earth observation mission as a core partner.

According to the government the formal signing is a milestone for Australia’s involvement in the pioneering project, which will map the earth’s surface and support mining exploration, environmental monitoring, agriculture and disaster management.

The Landsat Next programme, to be launched in 2031, will continue nearly 50 years of Earth observation collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the United States Geological Survey, according to the government.

The NSMEO was meant to end that dependency, and we will have to pay for the privilege.

Under the Landsat Next agreement, Australia will commit $207.4 million over the next four years for Geoscience Australia to develop advanced data processing and analytics capabilities.

The funding will also provide essential support to the Landsat Next mission through upgraded ground station capabilities in Alice Springs.

Wong said: “The establishment of the Australia-United States Landsat Next Partnership will build on our near half-century of cooperation in Earth observation.

“The satellite data delivered through this partnership will not only be of benefit to our two countries, but its critical insights will help the Indo-Pacific to optimise food security and agricultural production, improve urban infrastructure planning, and prepare for disasters.”

Picture: South Australian Space Industry Centre