AUSTRALIA IN SPACE
The Andy Thomas Space Foundation 13th Australian Space Forum
By Jessica Bainbridge, Tech Editor & Space Correspondent
10 | Australia in Space Magazine
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n March 3rd the 13th Space Forum took place in Adelaide with over 900 attendees and 70 exhibitors, including the likes of Airbus, The Australian Space Agency, Deloitte and SmartSat CRC to name a few. It was their biggest forum yet with several key announcements being made on the day. The morning began like all good mornings should with coffee and an interesting chat. My first conversation of the day was with one of the exhibitors (Roberto Santucci from Arrow Electronics Australia) around counterfeit electronics and the threat this poses to Space technology. Before long, it was time to head into the main hall for the day's first sessions. First up, Adj Prof Nicola Sasanelli AM, CEO – The Andy Thomas Space Foundation took the stage to formally open the event and welcome the attendees, who were both in person and virtually dialling in. A video message was then played from the Head of the Italian Space Agency, Giorgio Saccoccia who acknowledged the strong links between Australia and Italy and paid tribute to the late Italian Ambassador to Australia, Francesca Tardioli who tragically passed away at aged 56 just weeks before.
She was committed to Space activities and Giorgio described her death as a “great loss for everyone and what she initiated when it came to collaborations among our two countries in the Space field”. The second speaker of the day was the Hon Steven Marshall MP – Premier of South Australia. The Premiere touched on the state satellite Kanyini, a name it acquired recently after a naming contest, joking that he was worried it might have ended up being called Satty McSat Face and was relieved when that didn’t happen. He noted Kanyini is going through its final work and observations at the moment and will go into manufacturing and testing soon. The Premiere said it will play an important role for government, the commercial sector and most importantly getting young people in schools enthused about data from space. The premier also spoke on the morning’s announcement that the Morrison Government is investing $20 million into The Australian Space Park, which also includes an investment of $20 million from the South Australian Government bringing the project total to $66 million. The Hon Melissa Price MP, Minister for
