October 3, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Australia signs space agreements with the UK and Canada
By Asha McLean The Australian Space Agency now has arrangements with France, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Australia's newly stood up space agency has announced signing two agreements with counterpart agencies in Canada and the United Kingdom. The Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the Australian Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and the United Kingdom Space Agency, with the three-way deal expected to help the nations develop their respective space programs and take advantage of the global industry. "Forging international partnerships is vital to building Australia's space industry and ensuring our businesses can compete on the world stage," Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said Wednesday. "These agreements with counterpart space agencies in Canada and the United Kingdom will increase opportunities to work together and share information, technology, and personnel between our nations." The signing of the new MoUs took place at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) being held this week in Bremen, Germany. The IAC is an annual meeting of international space agencies and industry. The Australian Space Agency last month signed a similar MoU with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), with both agencies joining forces to develop their space capabilities, particularly in the areas of operations, science, Earth observation, positioning systems, and communications. The federal government announced during the 2018-19 Budget that it would be committing AU$41 million to the creation of the Australian Space Agency. Full article: https://www.zdnet.com/article/australia-signs-space-agreements-with-the-uk-and-canada