CANBERRA (CU)_As Russia and China expand its operations in space, Australia is also looking to secure its place in the cosmos. Beijing and Moscow, as well as Washington are believed to have tested weapons that could destroy a satellite in space and therefore Canberra recently launched a major initiative aimed at countering their ambitions and cementing its position in outer space.
The government of Australia unveiled the Defence Space Command, a defence agency focused on space. It will be led by Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts who expressed her concern over Australia’s inability to combat Beijing and Moscow’s activities. A Chinese satellite could “take out” the National Broadband Network for regional Australia, she pointed out, adding that although Canberra could rely on Washington to an extent in this regard, “we need to accelerate the capability so that we can deal with the threats”.
“Defence Space Command brings members of Air Force, Army, Navy and the Australian Public Service together under an integrated headquarters reporting to the Chief of Air Force, as the Space Domain Lead,” the Royal Australian Air Force said on its website. It listed the responsibilities of the new agency, including the development and advocacy for space specific priorities and to conduct strategic space planning, guiding scientific and technological space priorities, assisting in the development of refinement of space policy, among others.
According to Defence Minister Peter Dutton, the Defence Space Command will be initially modest in scope but intends to expand into a “Space Force in the future”. He went on to criticise countries which see space as “a territory for their taking, rather than one to be shared”. The Minister added that as space takes on “greater military significance” in this century, it could become a subject of conflict between nations.
Three years ago, the United States unveiled its own Space Force. The agency’s uniforms attracted mockery on social media, with some inquiring why they needed to be camouflaged for use in space, while others pointed out how its official logo resembled that from science fiction TV series Star Trek.
