The Space Show Andrew Rennie for the Space Association of Australia

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 24 April 2024:



Marking the 10th anniversary of the Rosetta mission, we continue the story of the arrival and completion of the Rosetta and Philae missions at comet 67P, Churyumov-Gerasimenko, in vox-pops, a poem and music. Also a report on how the comet was formed. (Inserts courtesy ESA)



Australian Space News:


Katherine Bennell-Pegg graduates astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre to become the first Australian-flagged astronaut
Fate of Space Machines Company Optimus satellite is still unclear
Gilmour Space's Eris Flight Test 1 launch delayed for lack of a launch permit from the Australian Space Agency. (Insert courtesy CH10)

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 17 April 2024:



Fleet Space Technologies of Adelaide:

* Centauri 6 satellite orbited on April 8 at 9:16 a.m. AEST

* Centauri 4 modified to allow "push-to-talk" messages by the Australian Defence Force

* Fleet's ExoSphere geodes used in mineral exploration

* ExoSphere technology to be incorporated into a sensor called "SPIDER” to be placed onto the lunar surface by the Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost 2 lander to search for buried water ice.



A description of the LuSEE experiment to be placed on the lunar far side to do radio cosmology, with Prof. Stuart Bale, the NASA Principal Investigator for LuSEE-Night from the University of California, Berkeley.



Is Space Machines Optimus satellite an example of the common fate of small satellite missions — 'dead on arrival’?:

* Dandelions had hoped to test composite material, including hemp, on Optimus

* The role of the Sydney-based Advanced Navigation company on the Optimus satellite.



Gilmour Space is preparing to launch the first Australian built satellite launch vehicle called Eris, from its Bowen Orbital Spaceport in Queensland:

* Eris, a dwarf planet, not a moon.

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 10 April 2024:

Marking the 20th anniversary of the start of the Rosetta and Philae missions to comet 67P, Churyumov-Gerasimenko, we tell the story including vox-pops, poetry and music. (Inserts courtesy ESA)

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 3 April 2024:


Dragonfly science to be done on Titan
New Horizons' journey to Pluto, and the findings about Pluto and its moons (Hal Weaver, Project Scientist)
Parker Solar Probe enters the Sun's corona
the ages of the early universe
the changing rotation period of asteroid 3200 Phaethon (Sean Marshall, Arecibo Observatory)
women astronomers (Fred Watson, AAT)
the WISE astronomy satellite
history of astronaut wake-up music
Parker Solar Probe detects dust in the inner Solar System (Jamey Szalay, Research Scientist, Princeton University.) (Inserts courtesy GSFC, JHU, JPL, NPR)

On this bonus episode of The Space Show:

Australian Space Industry 2024 — Federal Space Grants 2024 — The Details of twelve funding grants awarded by the Australian Space Agency.

Funding boost to grow Aussie space sector

Twelve new Australian space projects are supported that will build capability in our local space sector, as well as respond to key challenges and opportunities like climate change.

The 12 projects, which align with NASA’s Artemis mission, will share in more than $9 million in funding to help drive innovation and support cutting-edge Australian science.

The Moon to Mars grants will assist these Australian companies to enter global space supply chains.

Among the projects being supported are:


Valiant Space (Qld) will receive $934,500 to develop a new non-toxic propulsion system that will support more sustainable and responsible use of space.
NextAero (VIC) will receive $1,000,000 to design, manufacture and validate cutting-edge cryogenic rocket propellants, which are predicted to be central to next generation sustainable spacecraft and rocket systems.
HEO (NSW) will receive $742,164 to develop advanced cameras for imaging satellites to better track space debris and objects, ensuring safe and sustainable use of space.
Neumann Space (SA) will receive $1,000,000 to locally develop a world-class spacecraft electric propulsion manufacturing and test facility, to support national and international space missions.


A full list of projects supported and detailed descriptions are available here: https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/moon-to-mars-supply-chain-capability-improvement-grants/grant-recipients

On The Space Show for Wednesday, 27 March 2024:



Vale Thomas P. Stafford

Marking the death at age 93 of former Gemini, Apollo and Apollo-Soyuz astronaut Tom Stafford, with an explanation of how he came to be called, "The Mayor of Pad 19." (Inserts courtesy VoA)



Australian Space Industry 2024 — Part 3 & Planet Earth — Episode 60

A dual topic feature:

* Australian Space Agency funding grants boost

* “The Democratisation of Space" (Maria Xygkaki, Senior Business Developer, Saber Astronautics, Adelaide)

* Spiral Blue and the Optimus satellite (Mei He, Business Development Intern, Spiral Blue)

* CyanoSat on Skykraft.