Australia scraps billion-dollar satellite program

Australia on Friday mentioned it was axing a billion-dollar plan to develop a sequence of space satellites, because it tries to chop prices amid an financial slowdown and cost-of-living disaster.

The Aus$1.2 billion (US$770 million) Nationwide House Mission for Earth Statement was unveiled simply final 12 months and hailed as a key plank in creating an Australian space trade.

This system’s goal was to design, construct and function 4 satellites to be launched between 2028 and 2033 to collect Earth remark knowledge.

The info helps authorities forecast the climate, reply to natural disasters and handle the surroundings.

However the nation’s center-left authorities mentioned the plan will likely be scrapped for “funds restore” causes, leaving Australia reliant on earth knowledge from abroad companions.

Trade and Science Minister Ed Husic instructed public broadcaster ABC on Friday that prioritizing “broader environmental issues” whereas combating inflation had meant “making robust calls”.

“If I do not lower a billion there, I’ve obtained to seek out it some other place within the portfolio,” he mentioned.

“There are different methods we will construct functionality—we’re definitely enthusiastic about doing that. We simply should make the decision on this.”

Australia’s authorities has promised to stability the funds this 12 months, regardless of sluggish development and a gentle enhance in protection spending.

The House Trade Affiliation of Australia mentioned the choice to cancel the satellite program was “shortsighted”.

“It can undermine the Albanese authorities’s agenda on local weather, protection, STEM, advanced manufacturing and constructing tech jobs,” the foyer group for Australia’s space trade mentioned.

© 2023 AFP