This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! NEW VENUE: Cinema Theatre (80.02.02), Building 80, Level 2, Room 2, Swanston Academic Building at RMIT University, 445 Swanston Street, Melbourne NEW TIME: 6:30 - 9:00 pm The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV. Countdown to an Australian Space Agency On 8 May 2018, as part of the 2018-19 Budget, the Australian Government announced the establishment of an Australian Space Agency with ongoing funding starting at $26 million over the next four years. The Agency will also be able to draw on a pool of $15 million, from 2019-20, to invest in specific international space projects which are considered to be beneficial to Australia. 2018-19 Budget Media release On 14 May 2018, the Minister for Jobs and Innovation, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash released the Report on the Review of Australia’s Space Industry Capability and announced the Australian Government Response to the Review’s Report. Minister Cash also announced the appointment of Dr Megan Clark AC as the interim Head of the Australian Space Agency. View the media release View the response Australian Government response (PDF 339KB)  View the Expert Reference Panel Report Review of Australia’s space Industry Capability (PDF 3.1MB) The Australian Space Agency will commence operations on 1 July 2018. The Agency will have four core responsibilities: support the development of Australia’s space industry so that it can compete effectively in the global space sector coordinate domestic activities in Australia’s space sector engage closely with key stakeholders, including state and territory governments, to identify opportunities to harness industry advantages and create a globally competitive space industry in Australia facilitate international space engagement, both in policy and industry forums, to build the networks needed to develop Australia’s space capability and ensure our industry players can access global supply chains. Source: Department of Industry, Innovation and Science

The producers of 'THE LAST MAN ON THE MOON', HAVILAND DIGITAL, in association with LIVE ON STAGE AUSTRALIA, proudly present the Australian film premiere of: MISSION CONTROL: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo Including a special Q&A with Brigadier General USAF (Ret.), legendary Apollo 16 astronaut and Moonwalker, CHARLIE DUKE, and Apollo mission control flight director, Gerry Griffin, live on stage in Australia during May 2018.  With a special producer's tribute to CAPTAIN GENE CERNAN. Hosted by acclaimed Australian astrophysicist, Prof. Lisa Harvey-Smith. Australian Tour Dates: Melbourne - Astor Theatre, St Kilda | Wed 2 May 2018 TICKETMASTER Canberra - Llewellyn Hall, ANU | Sat 5 May 2018 TICKETEK Sydney - Event Cinemas 4 (George Street) | Mon 7 May 2018 TICKETMASTER Brisbane - Brisbane City Hall | Thu 10 May 2018 TICKETMASTER Perth - Perth Concert Hall | Sun 13 May 2018 PERTH CONCERT HALL BOX OFFICE & TICKETMASTER Free Ticket Give Away: Congratulations to all the winners of the member prize draw!.

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! NEW VENUE: Interactive Theatre (80|09|12), Building 80, Level 09, Room 12, Swanston Academic Building at RMIT University, 445 Swanston Street, Melbourne NEW TIME: 6:30 - 9:00 pm The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV.   The Melbourne Space Program: Designing Satellites in Melbourne Blake Fuller | Engineering Manager - Melbourne Space Program The Melbourne Space Program (MSP) seeks to promote innovation, technological advancement and education in support of a strong Australian aerospace sector that contributes significant social and financial value both nationally and internationally. The program moves towards establishing itself as a leader in space-related issues and a pioneer of progress within the space industry – and in doing so, endeavours to demonstrate what Australia as a nation can accomplish in space. By undertaking a range of projects and initiatives that are socially beneficial as well as financially viable, the Melbourne Space Program seeks to create cultural and intellectual value on national and international scales. The Melbourne Space Program comprises a diverse group of passionate and ambitious individuals united in their work to strengthen the aerospace industry and space exploration, with a focus on education and innovation, within Australia. Program volunteers undertake both STEM and non-STEM projects aimed at supporting the scientific- and engineering-based missions, as well as understanding the potential for building an Australian space sector. As such, the Melbourne Space Program provides a method for university students and alumni to undergo professional development and gain experience in a field that they are interested in, one that is technically challenging as well.   ACRUX-1 Project Named for the brightest star in the Southern Cross, ACRUX-1 will be the first satellite launched by the Melbourne Space Program, with the launch planned for 2018. Unlike larger satellites, nano-satellites such as this are uniquely suited for our long-term vision; their small size facilitates rapid and inexpensive prototyping, which can then be integrated into Earth-wide aperture mesh networks.

All financial members of the Space Association of Australia are invited to nominate to go into the prize draw to win one of 13 tickets to see:  MISSION CONTROL: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo Including a special Q&A with Brigadier General USAF (Ret.), legendary Apollo 16 astronaut and Moonwalker, CHARLIE DUKE, and Apollo mission control flight director, GERRY GRIFFIN, live on stage in Australia during May 2018.  There are two general admission tickets (valued at ~$85 each) to be won for each of the following shows and five tickets for the Melbourne show: Melbourne - Astor Theatre, St Kilda | Wed 2 May 2018 Canberra - Llewellyn Hall, ANU | Sat 5 May 2018 Sydney - Event Cinemas 4 (George Street) | Mon 7 May 2018 Brisbane - Brisbane City Hall | Thu 10 May 2018 Perth - Perth Concert Hall | Sun 13 May 2018   Not a financial member? Join up now or renew your membership by 11 April 2018 to go into the draw.   To confirn your intention to participate in the prize draw, simply nominate the event in your state or territory of residence by clicking the   Get Tickets   button and selecting the appropriate city prize draw ticket that appears.​    NOTES: 1. Members are eligible to enter the draw for the event that takes place in their registered state or territory of residence (i.e. VIC, ACT, NSW, QLD or WA) as listed in their membership records. Members whose registered place of residence is outside these states or territory (i.e. SA, TAS or NT) may nominate for entry to the  following events: SA & TAS for the Melbourne event and NT for the Brisbane event. 2. Prizes include a ticket for entry only - travel, accommodation and expenses are not included. You must be willing and able to travel to the city you nominate at your own expense. 3. For any special circumstances please contact us at spaceflight@space.asn.au or 0413 993 231 before 12:00 am (AEST) on Wednesday 11 April 2018.   TERMS AND CONDITIONS  Entry:  1. The Space Association of Australia Inc. (the SAA) is the promoter of this competition, which will run from 1 April until 11 April 2018 unless and until cancelled by the SAA at any time at its sole discretion.  2. The SAA will hold a prize draw giving financial members of the SAA the chance to win one of thirteen (13) general admission tickets (valued at ~$85 each) to the Mission Control events: Five for the 2 May Melbourne show  Two for the 5 May Canberra show Two for the 7 May Sydney show Two for the 10 May Brisbane show  Two for the 13 May Perth show. All financial Members as at 12:00 am (AEST) on 11 April 2018 will be entered into the Prize Draw for their relevant capital city.  3. Members will only be eligible to enter the draw for the event that takes place in their registered state or territory of residence (i.e. VIC, ACT, NSW, QLD or WA) as listed in their membership records. Members whose registered place of residence is outside these states or territory (i.e. SA, TAS or NT) may nominate for entry to the  following events: SA & TAS for the Melbourne event and NT for the Brisbane event. 4. In consideration for entry into the competition, SAA members agree to be bound by these terms and conditions and shall at all times act in good faith towards the SAA and the competition.  5. The competition is not open to any individual who is not a financial Member of the SAA at the time of the prize draw.  Prize: 6. The Prize Draw will take place at the studios of 88.3 Southern FM in Brighton, Victoria, Australia and will be broadcast live on Southern FM and streamed online during the The Space Show on Wednesday, 11 April 2018. The winners will be the first two names to be selected at random from all of the eligible Members as at the date of the Prize Draw for each of the nominated cities. 7. The winner of each Prize will be contacted directly by the SAA.  8. The Prize winner (and a guardian if under 16) will be required to give their consent to the following: (i) for the winner’s name and (if applicable) photograph to be published on the SAA website; (ii) for the winner’s name to be disclosed to any person requesting that SAA confirm the identity of a Prize winner; and (iii) for the winner’s name and/or photograph to be published for promotional purposes.  9. Any ancillary costs and expenses associated with the Prize, such as subsistence, accommodation and travel, will not be provided by SAA and shall be borne by the winner. The Prize is non-transferable and no cash alternative is available.  10. If any winner, drawn at random, is unable or unwilling to: (i) accept the Prize; or (ii) provide the consent requested at paragraph 8 above, subsequent draws will take place until a new winner is found who is able/willing to accept the Prize and provide the necessary consent.  11. Subject to paragraphs 8 and 9 above, details of each Prize Draw winner will be made available upon request from the SAA. 12. The SAA reserves the right to cancel or amend any Prize Draw, the Competition or these Conditions without notice in the event of the occurrence of circumstances beyond its reasonable control. 

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! NEW VENUE: Interactive Theatre (80|09|12), Building 80, Level 09, Room 12, Swanston Academic Building at RMIT University, 445 Swanston Street, Melbourne NEW TIME: 6:30 - 9:00 pm The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNWn_Ud47Pg Troy McCann | Founder and Managing Director at MoonshotX MoonshotX cultivates early stage startups seeking to build or use next-generation space-based infrastructure to solve real problems on Earth and beyond. Its mission is to help entrepreneurs validate, grow and scale promising space technology based business models with support from a world-class network of experienced mentors, advisers and partners. Moonshot was founded mid-2016 and is on a trajectory to become the world’s leading space business accelerator. Moonshot currently operates the 16-week Gemini Space Entrepreneurship Incubator which tools people with the strategy and experience necessary to turn an idea into an investable business, and are preparing for a 6-month Moonshot Accelerator which will provide up to 10 space related startups with rent-free office space, seed funding, access to space testing and validation resources, as well as a network of mentors and advisors. New Space is the new tech sector and is growing from a USD$350 billion industry today into a USD$1 trillion industry by 2030. Space technology is becoming increasingly embedded into supply chains in every economic sector and of every corner of modern society. Tomorrow’s leading space entrepreneur is probably building the next big thing in their garage at this very moment!

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! NEW VENUE: Interactive Theatre (80|09|12), Building 80, Level 09, Room 12, Swanston Academic Building at RMIT University, 445 Swanston Street, Melbourne NEW TIME: 6:30 to 9:00 pm The meeting will be streamed live and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel: SAA.TV - https://youtu.be/TRHOfjYlTKk Photo: Illustration Courtesy of Boeing

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! NEW VENUE: Interactive Theatre (80|2|03), Building 80, RMIT University, 445 Swanston Street, Melbourne The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV.  

Join us on 18 December for our fifth annual and third consecutive ‘Frencken Hard’ Space Trivia Night! You are invited to join us for the final meeting of the Space Association of Australia for 2017 - all welcome! Our fifth annual Space Trivia Night is free and open to all members, non members, friends and family. These nights are loads of fun and have become a social highlight of the SAA calendar. As usual, we'll be in the Function Room on the first floor of the Caulfield RSL. The venue is disabled friendly and includes a lift. Meals are available at reasonable prices. Ample car parking is available immediately behind the RSL or in St Georges Road.  Trams and trains run within 200 metres of the venue. For planning purposes, we ask that you RSVP your intention to attend and how many will be in your party by clicking on the "Get Tickets" button to the right of the screen​. There is no charge for the night, this just allows us to know how many to plan for. To help the night flow, please arrive at the RSL at or before 7:00 pm so that we can form teams and seat accordingly (we do plan to mix the groups up, so please be open to the possibility of sitting with people you may or may not know). We would also like you to place meal orders prior to getting started so the meals can be delivered upstairs at about 8.00 pm. So, dust off your space knowledge, get lots of sleep, eat healthily, get out and exercise and most of all, be ready for a fun night, we look forward to seeing you there!

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! We'll be in the Function Room on the first floor of the Caulfield RSL. The venue is disabled friendly and includes a lift. Meals are available at reasonable prices. Ample car parking is available immediately behind the RSL or in St Georges Road. Trams and trains run within 200 metres of the venue. The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV.   Live stream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak9MkV4M1hc 50th anniversary of Apollo 4 - the first launch of the Saturn V

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! We'll be in the Function Room on the first floor of the Caulfield RSL. The venue is disabled friendly and includes a lift. Meals are available at reasonable prices. Ample car parking is available immediately behind the RSL or in St Georges Road. Trams and trains run within 200 metres of the venue. The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV.   Kerrie Dougherty is a freelance curator, historian, educator and writer, with more than thirty years’ experience in the space field. Formerly Curator of Space Technology at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Kerrie is an acknowledged expert on Australia’s space history, having co-authored the original edition of Space Australia and published more than a dozen other papers on the topic. A member of the Faculty of the International Space University, Kerrie lectures in Space Humanities in the ISU’s Space Studies Program and Southern Hemisphere Space Studies program. She is also an elected Member of the International Academy of Astronautics and serves on international committees on the ‘history of astronautics’, ‘space education and outreach’ and ‘space and museums’. Kerrie has been the recipient of an Australian Space Pioneer Award from the National Space Society of Australia and was the 2015 winner of the Sacknoff Prize for Space History.   Australis OSCAR 5: The Story of how Melbourne University Students Built Australia’s First Satellite with Richard Tonkin In the 1960s, a group of University of Melbourne science and engineering students banded together to build a satellite in their spare time. Australis OSCAR 5 tells the story of those students as they built Australia's first satelllite and had it launched into orbit by NASA in January 1970. The satellite operated successfully for nearly two months before its batteries ran out.      

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! We'll be in the Function Room on the first floor of the Caulfield RSL. The venue is disabled friendly and includes a lift. Meals are available at reasonable prices. Ample car parking is available immediately behind the RSL or in St Georges Road. Trams and trains run within 200 metres of the venue. The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV.    Tim Parsons is Co-Founder at X-Lab, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Fleet, Studio Tech Evangelist at iflix and Co-Founder and CEO at Delta-V Space Hub - Australia's first space startup accelerator. Tim has a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Imperial College London and over 25 years' experience driving cutting-edge digital innovation for Fortune 500 companies such as Audi, Amex, Apple Computer, Honda, Kodak, McDonalds, Sony, Toyota, Woolworths - and over 100 other Australian, regional and global clients.

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome! We'll be in the Function Room on the first floor of the Caulfield RSL. The venue is disabled friendly and includes a lift. Meals are available at reasonable prices. Ample car parking is available immediately behind the RSL or in St Georges Road. Trams and trains run within 200 metres of the venue. The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV.   Art to Space / Space to Art with Dr Sarah Jane Pell Independent artist, commercial diver, explorer and researcher of new worlds. Award-winning artist Dr Sarah Jane Pell is leading first generation artist-astronaut crews of the commercial spaceflight era. Her pioneering practice seeks to embody, and critique, the culture of exploration from sea, to summit, to space. She performs expressively and builds novel prototype apparatus to test and communicate from the field. Artefacts include sculptural, technical, poetic and media events. Dr Pell is an Astronaut Candidate for a suborbital aeronomy mission, an experienced Simulation Astronaut for undersea trials, and imagineer for a MoonVillage. Her work promotes physical conditioning, creative visualisation and communication. At this meeting, Dr Pell will provide an overview of her numerous projects and interests, past, present and those upcoming. The meeting will be streamed live here!

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome!We'll be in the Function Room on the first floor of the Caulfield RSL. The venue is disabled friendly and includes a lift. Meals are available at reasonable prices. Ample car parking is available immediately behind the RSL or in St Georges Road. Trams and trains run within 200 metres of the venue.The meeting will be streamed live and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel here - SAA.TV. WOMEN IN SPACE is a special video presentation that traces the history of women pioneers in the U.S. space program. Some, like aviators Wally Funk and Jerrie Cobb, passed the same gruelling tests as male astronauts, only to be dismissed by NASA, the military, and even Lyndon Johnson, as a distraction. It wasn’t until 1995 that Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a spacecraft. The program includes interviews with Collins, as well as Sally Ride’s classmates Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon and Kathryn Sullivan, and features Mae Jemison, the first woman of color astronaut, and Peggy Whitson, the first female commander of the International Space Station. The hour ends with the next generation of women engineers, mathematicians and astronauts—the new group of pioneers, like Marleen Martinez, who continue to make small but significant steps forward. Narrated by Jodie Foster.The meeting will be streamed live here!

This is the free monthly meeting of the Space Association of Australia - all welcome!We'll be in the Function Room on the first floor of the Caulfield RSL. The venue is disabled friendly and includes a lift. Meals are available at reasonable prices. Ample car parking is available immediately behind the RSL or in St Georges Road. Trams and trains run within 200 metres of the venue.The meeting will be streamed live here and then made available on-demand via the Space Association's YouTube channel - SAA.TV. Our guest speaker, Kjetil Wormnes, is a mechatronics engineer working at the European Space Agency (ESA)Kjetil leads technology research and development activities at the European Space Agency's automation and robotics section of ESTEC - the European Space Research and Technology Centre - ESA's technical heart located in the Netherlands. He has been in charge of activities for developing space debris capturing technologies and has supported both early mission studies for a space debris removal mission as well as e.Deorbit, a European Space Agency mission to remove space debris currently under development. Kjetil also leads research and development activities in other areas of space robotics, and in particular orbital and low gravity robotics and has recently established a new laboratory at ESTEC to specifically support R&D in low gravity robotics. Prior to working for ESA, Kjetil was employed in Australia at the CSIRO where he was working on the early designs of the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder radio telescope and supported Australia's bid for the Square Kilometre Array. Currently, Kjetil is living in Melbourne while on sabbatical from the European Space Agency.

Presented by the Space Association of Australia, MoonshotX and the Carlton Connect Initiative Register for this free event on Eventbrite!Unable to attend the event in person? Then watch the live stream here: http://bit.ly/2qSqjNsSpace technology touches all of our lives daily and the global space technology and exploration industry is worth hundreds of billions annually, stemming from the demand for growth in space exploration and technologies including satellites launch providers, spacecraft components, in-space services, software and robotics.Many now feel that we need to set in place a comprehensive plan to build on the fledgling domestic space industry to capture the global opportunities of the booming space business.In Australia in Space: What the New Space Industry Means for Australia, we will explore the recently released recommendations contained in the Space Industry Association of Australia’s white paper, Advancing Australia in Space and finish the night with a lively and interactive panel discussion on the future of space in Australia.You will hear from leading voices in the Australian space scene to address the question of Australia’s involvement in the emerging space sector: Peter Nikoloff – Secretary of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) and South Australian Space Advisory Council Member. Peter is also an Executive Director and Co-Founder of Nova Systems and Senior Weapons System Engineer [speaker]Prof. Andrew Dempster – Director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSR) at UNSW [speaker]Andrea Boyd – Australia’s only ISS Flight Controller stationed at the European Astronaut Centre [speaker]Tim Parsons – Co-Founder and CEO at Delta-V Space Alliance, Co-Founder at X-Lab, Studio Tech Evangelist at iflix [speaker]Dr Katie Mack – Theoretical astrophysicist at the University of Melbourne and science communicator [panel member]Dr Grace Lai – Medical doctor, Founder of Periop Partners, and tech entrepreneur [panel moderator]The space race is now in the hands of private companies, and the sky is by no means the limit – Australia is well positioned to make the next leap forward."Unlike a mining boom, it is a boom that can continue forever, it is limited only by our imagination, and I know that Australians believe in themselves, I know that we are a creative and imaginative nation." – Malcolm Turnbull (Innovation statement 2015)Register for this free event on Eventbrite!Unable to attend the event in person? Then watch the live stream here: http://bit.ly/2qSqjNs