Sovereign space capability and more sustainable ways to fly are on the agenda as aerospace giant Boeing and Australia's national science agency the CSIRO announce a new multimillion dollar agreement.
The two organisations have launched a $41 million research and development program to focus on advancements in space and aviation sustainability, as well autonomous systems the factory floor.
The announcement cements a minimum commitment for combined research projects over the next five years, Managing Director of Boeing Research & Technology Australia, Michael Edwards said.
"It's a significant amount of funding. It's one of the largest that we have anywhere in the world, let alone here in Australia," he said.
The country is well positioned for progress above the clouds following the establishment of the Australian Space Agency in 2018, Director of Emerging Markets, Boeing Defence Australia Matthew Buckle said.
"While it's been exciting to see the development over the last number of years ... in comparison to the US and other parts around the world, our small business and our other businesses here in Australia are quiet in their infancy when it comes to space capability," he said.
"They could really benefit from continued investment in R&D, like the Boeing and CSIRO relationship."
As well as defence, advancements in space satellites have applications in environment and climate, CSIRO Senior Technical Adviser to Boeing Shravan Singh said.
"CSIRO has a mission called AquaWatch...which is monitoring the resilience of Australia to droughts," he said.
"Part of that means we develop algorithms ... which (take) those really high resolution images off a satellite and (are) able to crunch them down into downloadable sizes of data."
Sustainability of commercial aeroplanes and what moves them through the air is also being investigated.
"One of the examples that CSIRO is helping us with is looking at future fuel options, not only in the types of sustainable aviation fuels that are already certified and the ability to be able to bring them to commercial reality ... but also in potentially the longer term options around other fuel systems such as hydrogen," Mr Edwards said.
The latest agreement builds on more than 30 years of partnership, with a total investment of $200 million on joint research projects to date.
They include the CSIRO"s 'Paintbond" technology, a topcoat to protect against extreme conditions which has been applied to more than 1000 Boeing planes, saving millions of dollars in maintenance costs.
Australian Associated Press
