Australia's 'Space Boss' awarded UWA honorary doctorate
The ISC congratulates the Head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo for the confernment of his honorary doctorate at The University of Western Australia in recognition of his extraordinary achievements in space innovation.
Australian Space Agency head Enrico Palermo has been awarded a doctorate by The University of Western Australia in recognition of his extraordinary achievements in space innovation.
Dr Palermo has had a stellar career, helping develop commercial spaceships, since graduating from UWA with a Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Science in 2002.
He was chief operating officer at Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and president of the Spaceship Company before moving back to Australia last year to head the Australian Space Agency.
Dr Palermo, whose honorary doctorate was conferred at a graduation ceremony in Winthrop Hall, said work in space was helping to tackle global challenges.
“The reason we know the condition of our planet in many ways is because we observe space from Earth,” Dr Palermo said.
“Many of the variables, many of the elements in climate modelling rely on space data so by having an effective space industry here in Australia it is really going to enable us to deal with the challenges of climate change but also make us more resilient to natural disasters which unfortunately are occurring at a faster frequency.”
The father-of-two, whose own interest in science was encouraged by his grandfather, said space was also a source of inspiration.
“Space is the spark of light that often gets people into science, technology, engineering and maths fields so we have an enormous responsibility to bring space to the nation,” he said.
“My Nonno taught me how things work in the world and in many respects was the person who got me on the journey of loving science and engineering.
Pru Steinerts, from UWA’s International Space Centre, said she was delighted Dr Palermo had been awarded such an honour.
“Dr Palermo continues to be a huge inspiration to UWA’s students and his journey demonstrates what is possible not only in space but as a successful and influential engineer,” Ms Steinerts said.
In an address at the Winthrop Hall ceremony Dr Palermo urged science graduates to ‘never stop learning’ and ‘grab every opportunity’.
“Diverse experiences, positions of discomfort and pushing the boundaries are where you grow the most, innovate the most and learn the most,” Dr Palermo said.
JWST - First Light Images Uncovered!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the deep dive into the JWST First Light images – such an enthusiastic and curious audience! Your questions kept us on our toes, and we loved every second of it.
Thank you to our speakers, Professor Simon Driver, Dr Sabine Bellstedt and Dr Elisabete da Cunha, supported by emcee Pru Steinerts and tech guru Dr Robin Cook.
Much appreciation to our ISC Student Club volunteers who eagerly put their hands up for any job to support the evening and notched up quite a few steps.
And a special mention to Dr David Gozzard for offering to create not one, but two amazing JWST models in record time!
Astronomers celebrate first images from James Webb Space Telescope's mission
On Tuesday night, during the global release of the First Light images, the broadcast team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will cross to the International Space Centre at UWA. We’re humbled and excited to represent Australia in this historic event.
In a serendipitous note, at the time of the broadcast it will be an Australian tracking station in Tidbinbilla receiving the data from JWST, as part of NASA’s Deep Space Network in Canberra.
Broadcast of the First Light images release begins at 10.30pm AWST – you can live stream from home here: NASA TV Live
UWA speaks to Professor Simon Driver on the First Light Images Release
Live cross to ISC from NASA's Global Press Conference for JWST
The University of Western Australia was proud to represent Australia in the First Light images release by the NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration JWST team. First cab off the rank – Perth!
The International Space Centre was the only NASA-accredited outreach event in Australia, and as such was invited to participate in the global press conference on July 14. Thank you to NASA’s Strategic Partnerships Manager (Science Mission Directorate) Anita Dey for this exciting opportunity to involve our team in such an exciting event.
ESA's Vega-C Rocket supported by New Norcia Tracking Station
The New Norcia tracking station just north of Perth will be an integral part of the launch of European Space Agency – ESA’s new medium-lift Vega-C rocket when it takes off next Wednesday (TBC) from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
The tracking station in WA is designed for communicating with deep-space missions and provides support to spacecraft such as Mars Express, Rosetta and Gaia for routine operations. The new Vega-C to launch on Wednesday can orbit larger satellites than its predecessor, carry two main payloads or can even accommodate rideshare missions.
The image above shows the 35m-diameter dish antenna of ESA’s deep-space tracking station in New Norcia, illuminated by ground lights against the night sky.
Credit: D. O’Donnell/ESA – CC BY-SA 3.0
James Webb Space Telescope First Light Images
Join the International Space Centre to take a deep dive into the first images to be released from the James Webb Space Telescope!
Among the first images will be ‘the deepest image of our universe that has ever been taken,’ according to NASA administrator Bill Nelson. This means we will be looking at the farthest humans have ever seen before – in both space and time.
Our Astronomy from Space Node Leader Professor Simon Driver secured over a hundred hours on the JWST twenty years ago and he’s here to answer all your questions about this historic telescope, along with Dr Sabine Bellstedt and Dr Elisabete Da Cunha, both working with data from the JWST.
General tickets to this special event are $15. A reserved group of special Gold tickets, with pre-event catering and mingling, are also available for $30.
Book tickets at: https://payments.uwa.edu.au/jwst
Lineup
4.30pm (Gold Tickets Only) – VIP Event
5.00pm (General Admission)
First Images – James Webb Space Telescope // Dr Sabine Bellstedt
First Light and Cosmic Ignition // Professor Simon Driver
Peering Through the Dust // Dr Elisabete Da Cunha
Panel Q&A
Details
Thursday July 14
University Club Auditorium
5pm Start (General Admission)
Free parking adjacent.
This event is supported by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research and the University of Western Australia.
New Norcia's First Stone Ceremony with ESA
Did you know WA has one of the European Space Agency’s three dishes in their Deep Space Network? Today, with Australian Space Agency, Ed Husic MP, CSIRO and Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation, the ISC congratulates European Space Agency – ESA on laying the first stone on their fourth dish in their DSM in New Norcia – a remarkable location for space communications.
ESA Industry Networking Event (UWA)
A big thank you to Paul Trotman from the Australian Space Agency for kicking off the European Space Agency – ESA industry networking event for the evening, hosted by the International Space Centre and the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
Guillermo Lorenzo from ESA follows to talk through the Deep Space Network – cooperative, core ESA and augmented – and the capacity of their centralised operations, at the International Space Centre and Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation event. It was wonderful to see so many industry partners attend to show their commitment to forwarding Australia’s space collaborations.
Space Industry All Stakeholder Meeting (WA)
Ahead of tomorrow’s First Stone ceremony by the European Space Agency at New Norcia, The University of Western Australia’s International Space Centre and the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation hosted the Australian Space Agency, AROSE Curtin University, the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre and ICRAR in an All Stakeholder meeting to discuss the future of space in WA.
The event took place in the beautiful UWA Senate Room, emceed by James Yuen of JTSI.
Australian Universities Space Institutes Forum
Meet the four inaugural signatories of AUSIF (Australian Universities Space Institutes Forum) Danail Obreschkow (International Space Centre The University of Western Australia), Anna Moore (ANU Institute for Space | InSpace), Alan Duffy GAICD (Space Technology and Industry Institute Swinburne University of Technology) and Matt Opie (Director, Defence and Space, University of South Australia).
AUSIF
• facilitates between the Australian Space Agency (ASA), other national bodies, and the collective effort of Australian universities in space research and development;
• provides coordinated expert advice to the ASA and other government bodies on space matters and forward planning in areas covered by the Forum members;
• provides coordinated promotion of the impact produced by Australian university-based space research and capabilities;
• facilitates and encourages coordination, information sharing and discussion between Forum members to identify and take up opportunities, maximize outcomes and to grow the Australian space sector; and
• enables greater collaboration between Universities and other national and international space research organisations.
Contact the ISC or any of the bodies involved for any questions about AUSIF.