A major hurdle is this reality; people think space is generally a waste of money and has no real benefits. However when people investigate and understand space activities, they generally accept and support the need to press on in this amazing and exiting area.

A scenario - Take away mobile phones, satellite TV, and stop the GPS network, and you will have an irate public going nowhere, not knowing what the problem is, and not being able to whinge and complain to anybody about it.

Someone who thinks there are plenty of humanitarian problems to address like specific medical cures or third world starvation, as priorities over aerospace investment are missing the understanding that solving these issues will need a collective and collaborative effort on all fronts and in most cases the success with these issues will only be possible with advanced communication and public awareness. A great example is the international Live 8 benefit concerts which was a campaign and a Global Call for ‘Action Against Poverty’. More than 1,000 musicians performed at the concerts, which were broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks. Thank you to the Space Industry.

For example, communication between international medical research centres has enabled remote or tele-operations to be performed. This is where a patient can be in a different country to the doctor operating on them, and this has become possible through satellites and space communications.

Furthermore, satellite communications are needed to inform and activate aid responses to emergencies like the Indonesian tsunamis. The world relies heavily on these satellites to monitor and evaluate ocean activity and in time early warning alarms to impending disasters of such a nature will only improve.

It is clear that, humanitarian and basic needs not just rely on, but also are enriched by the aerospace industry. Take the GPS network for instance, which provides navigational data to ships, planes, and now tractors. Most large-scale food crops rely on GPS information to steer and direct tractors to optimise planting, fertilisers and weed management, hence providing efficient and sustainable agriculture to meet world demand. So whether somebody likes it or not, the reality is we are all part of this technological age that is continually evolving, and the aerospace industry is just as important as any other limb in our global body.

The ASA has established our own Education and Outreach programme which we believe will assist greatly in developing Australian Aerospace and scientific support.

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