Space radar unveiled

THE LeoLabs West Australian Space Radar (WASR) was commissioned on Tuesday in Worsley.

The commissioning ceremony was held at the site of the radar, and included LeoLabs leadership and international guests, federal and state politicians, local elders and community leaders, as well as members of the Australian Space Agency and the Australian Defence Force.

LeoLabs is the leading commercial provider of low Earth orbit (LEO) mapping and Space Situational Awareness (SSA) services. It provides superior information in the dynamic space era through its ver- tically integrated space operations stack and globally networked space radars.

In collaboration with the LeoLabs Kiwi Space Radar in the South Island of New Zealand, Collie’s site will allow for tracking and monitoring of median to high inclination resident space objects in LEO in the heart of the Indo-Pacific region.

The two radar sites will also increase LeoLabs capacity to discover new objects, including lethal, small debris that are currently non-trackable. During the ceremony, local aboriginal elder Joe Northover said he was impressed when he saw the radar.

Local artists contend for $50,000

TWO local artists are finalists in the $50,000 Collie Art Prize (CAP).

Dianne Clark and Cheryl Rochester are among 47 finalists chosen from 360 entries from around Australia.

The winner will be announced at an opening night function on Saturday, March 4. The Collie Art Prize is one of regional Australia’s richest art prizes, and started in 2018. Its ongoing theme is “identity”.

Mrs Rochester said she chose the Collie open cut mine as the subject of her painting.

“Coal is relevant to Collie and we’re transitioning into the next phase of what Collie’s going to be like,” she said.

“I felt we had to address the fact that we are a coal mining town and that was important to me and a lot of people.”

Mrs Clark said she was “ecstatic” to be a finalist.

Her painting features the end of her studio where she sits to contemplate whether she has finished an art piece.

“It’s where I sit and have my coffee quietly, or a glass of wine, or read a book,” she said.

Collie Art Gallery deputy chairperson and art organiser Don Clark said the art prize could not go ahead without local support.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve had in 2018, 2020 and again in 2023,” he said.

“We’ve had a tremendous response from local businesses in helping provide the operating funds we need to run an event of this magnitude.”

The finalists were selected by the director of the Art Gallery of WA, Colin Walker, Lester Prize chief executive, Annie Silberstein, and freelance art advocate Kelly Gellatly.

First prize is $50,000, while other awards include two second prizes to host an exhibition at the gallery, The People’s Choice award of up to $1500, the Best West Australian award of $1250 and the Pollie Packers’ Prize of $1000. There is also a kids’ prize in the “KID-Entity” program.

UNVEILED: LeoLabs Australia president and managing director Terry van Haren (left), with chief executive officer Dan Ceperley at the commissioning of the LeoLabs West Australian Space Radar (WASR) in Worsley on Tuesday.

“To me, a disk is supposed to be a big plate pointing upward,” he joked.

“As soon as I saw this, I thought ‘that’s a skate park!’

“But it is a job well done - science has come so far. Science to me was walking into a science room at Collie Senior High School and seeing frogs and stuff in jars.

“I am proud that we can share this with the rest of the world.”

Mr Northover acknowledged the radar’s important role in looking after “sky country”, which the First Nations people of Australia have observed for tens of thousands of years as the world’s first astronomers.

“All of these different people have come from different places to see the stars,” he said.

LeoLabs chief executive officer and co-founder Dan Ceperley visited from California and said it was a big occasion for the company.

“The radar is a huge milestone globally in space safety and for LeoLabs,” he said.

“Australia is now host to a landmark in the world of space safety.

“At LeoLabs we are honoured and humbled to be a part of the Australian space ecosystem and to have found so many supporters and partners in Australia.”

LeoLabs announced its plans to build its sixth radar site near Bunbury in Western Australia in October 2021.

Site work began in April 2022 with construction finishing in November and operational testing completed in December.

The US manufactured radars were assembled by a consortium of local Australian companies under the supervision of LeoLabs Australia.

Despite the COVID pandemic, local engineering companies completed the project in eight months.

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