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Eye in the sky space camera to be made in Australia

Manufacturing News




A space camera that can provide images back to Earth at high speed, aiding in disaster resilience operations, land management, and defence, is to be manufactured in Australia.

This multi-sensor camera for Earth observation is now in development with Leonardo, Spiral Blue, Nominal Systems and The Australian National University (ANU), brought together under an iLAuNCH Trailblazer project.

iLAuNCH Trailblazer Executive Director Darin Lovett said: “This partnership will bring first mover advantage to Australian industry and ANU, which is set to deliver a commercially viable product for future satellites.

“iLAuNCH is bringing together best in class technology that will help detect environmental changes, with translation opportunities to defence include Space Domain Awareness and missile guidance, as well as establishing an export market in partnership with Leonardo UK.”

Leonardo’s sensitive detectors for shortwave infrared which can show heat on an image as well as seeing the earth’s surface through clouds will be integrated into the camera system for space applications for the first time.

ANU has been developing their Rosella processor as the computer behind the detector that reads in the images and makes them available for other processing.

Spiral Blue has developed an in-space edge processing computer which will be integrated with the ANU processor to capture and process imagery through AI.

And Nominal Systems integrates the space camera into a full satellite bus.

ANU will further qualify the hardware for spaceflight readiness and develop an optics assembly, to create a ‘ready to fly’ space camera/telescope.

ANU’s Professor Robert Sharp of the Advanced Instrumentation Technology Centre said: “This programme is a great example of technology developed for a very specific, astronomy focused, problem which we can transition to a wider market.

“The development and application of these technologies creates a pathway to commercialisation for a space solution that is capable of remote imaging and high-speed data communication.

“Using AI software and laser communications support will increase the efficiency and accuracy of satellite imaging, leading to greater space observation capabilities.”

Picture: iLaunch/ANU Rosella processor



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