Data Management Western Australia

Small businesses gain access to satellite data from space data facility

Eliza Sayon May 26, 2021

2 min read

Small businesses are gaining a foothold in the rapidly growing space sector with the opening of the Australian Space Data Analysis Facility (ASDAF) in Western Australia.

The Facility will provide small businesses access to the latest satellite data sets. It will also provide businesses tools and training they need to analyse information from the space data and develop new commercial opportunities for themselves.

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter said the uses for satellite data are almost limitless but the costs to access and analyse big data sets prevented small businesses from entering the space sector.

“The potential uses for this data are diverse and extremely important for our everyday lives, including helping farmers increase crop yields and manage drought, to mapping supply chains and freight movements, or improving the management of environmental impacts in forestry and mining,” Minister Porter said.

Through the space data analysis facility, the Government is allowing small businesses to enter the market to stimulating innovation and accelerating the commercialisation of new products and services.

Head of the Australian Space Agency Enrico Palermo said space data and Earth observation analysis have always been a specialised application in the private sector.

By allowing small businesses to access the right space data, tools and capabilities, costs will be lowered and productivity will be increased. Palermo said that this will create new value and grow the country’s economy.

The Australian Space Data Analysis Facility was delivered by the Pawsey Supercomputer Centre in partnership with the Western Australia Data Science Innovation Hub.

The Facility is funded through the Australian Government’s $19.5 million Space Infrastructure Fund. The Fund was made to increase capability and fill gaps in Australia’s space infrastructure. It is also supported by the Western Australian Government with its $750,000 commitment to grow the state’s space industry.

Since 1 July 2018, the Australian Government has invested more than $700 million into the Australian civil space sector under the goal to triple the sector’s size to $12 billion and create up to an extra 20,000 jobs by 2030.

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.