Simon Birmingham, Australian minister of education, has announced that Australia’s government will create a new agency to oversee the country’s space programs and partnerships, Space News reported Sunday.
“This agency will be the anchor for our domestic coordination and the front door for our international engagement with so many of you across the world’s space industries,” Birminghan said in his opening remarks to the 68th International Astronautical Congress.
Birmingham told audience there is also an ongoing review of Australia’s space industry capacities.
“A national space agency will ensure we have a strategic long-term plan that supports the development and application of space technologies and grows our domestic space industry,” said Michaelia Cash, Australia’s acting minister of industry, innovation and science.
The report said South Australia also plans to establish a space development fund that would invest up to $800,000 annually in startup companies as well as scholarship and training programs in the region.