16th Australian Space Forum

Wednesday, 6 December 2023
Sydney, New South Wales

The Andy Thomas Space Foundation welcomed a global audience to the 16th edition of the Australian Space Forum, which was held on Wednesday 6th December 2023 at the International Convention & Exhibition Centre (ICC) in Sydney, New South Wales.

Supported by the Australian Space Agency and the South Australian Space Industry Centre, the Forum provides the perfect opportunity to stimulate ideas, share information about emerging technologies and network with influential space sector leaders and the broader community.

Participants attended in person, or purchased session recordings if they were unable to physically attend.

The space sector in Australia is experiencing unprecedented growth as industry, academia, and government work together to expand their activities and develop international relationships for ongoing opportunity and success within the space economy. Forum sessions include international panels covering highly pertinent topics that shape our industry. 

16ASF Program

Space as a global industry can impact each and every nation and its people. With unique national priorities, capabilities, challenges and technologies seen between nations, it has become pivotal to find points of shared intention and complementary strengths for international sector growth. This session will explore each nation’s space strategies and how together we can achieve global priorities. 

Speakers: 
● Enrico Palermo, Head, Australian Space Agency
● Dr Paul Bate, CEO, UK Space Agency
● Dr Shannon Walker, NASA Astronaut 
● Iain Cossar, Head, New Zealand Space Agency
● Chair: Professor Andy Koronios, Chief Executive Officer, SmartSat CRC

As Australia approaches IAC 2025, the industry is provided with an opportunity to showcase critical impact on advancing technologies, economic benefits and expansion of a diversely skilled workforce. This session will explore how united we can best represent Team Australia on the world stage, achieving the goals of the IAC and optimising potential collaborations.

Speakers:  
● Lisa Vitaris, Director, IAC Sydney 2025, Space Industry Association of Australia
● Dr Annie Handmer, IPC Co-chair 2024-25, Optus Satellite Policy and Industry Engagement Manager, Optus
● Jessica Saladine, Senior Associate – Space, Industry Development and Investment Partnerships, Investment NSW
● Sybilla Wilson, IAC Lead, Australian Space Agency
● Professor Erasmo Carrera, Local Chairman, 75th IAC 2024 Milan

Sustainability is at the core of all current and emerging industries, without it, Australia will not see its economy prosper long into the future. Space is key to achieving national and international sustainability goals, with the power to heavily impact both prevention and mitigation of further damage to both Earth and Space environments. This session will explore current and future sustainability strategies for the industry. 

Speakers: 
● Group Captain Patrick Del Guidice, Director Capability Strategy, Defence – Space Capabilities Branch
● Dr Paul Bate, CEO, UK Space Agency
● Dr Marie Le Pellec, Space Sustainability Lead, Australian Space Agency
● Dr Kimberley Clayfield, Space Research Program Director, CSIRO

Industrial impact is based heavily on its economic influence. Space as an industry has a diverse portfolio for impact, specifically for its downstream and end users. Absence of these technologies and advancements will lead to inadequate servicing of all related or impacted industries across the nation, including mining, agriculture, banking, etc with potential catastrophic economic impact. This session will explore the value of the space industry on the micro and macro scales across Australia.

Speakers:  
● Liesda Marsdon, Associate Director, Deloitte Access Economics
● Sebastian Chaoui, Co-Founder and CEO, Arlula
● Dr Simon Heemstra, Director of Risk Management, NSW Rural Fire Service
● Daniel Wright, Director of Product Development, NSW Telco Authority

A historic catalyst for collaboration and engagement, the global space industry has together pooled resources and shared expertise to overcome complex challenges. We are on the precipice of a new era of technological advancement to foster innovation and exploration both within and beyond our planet. But the bottom line remains the financial implications, this session will explore available funding pools and priority areas with guaranteed opportunities for collaboration

Speakers: 
● Dr Paul Bate, CEO, UK Space Agency
● David Ball, Regional Director Australia New Zealand, Lockheed Martin Space
● Christian Maender, Executive Vice President, In-Space Solutions, Axiom Space
● Professor Michele Trenti, The University of Melbourne
● Dr Matthew Tetlow, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Inovor Technologies
● Herve Astier, Chief Executive Officer, Neumann SpaceSpace

Space at its core is inspiring, it meets no limits for discovery and exploration. One of the modern day milestones for the industry is the esteemed Artemis Program, a global program spearheaded by NASA. This session will explore the many facets of engagement from Australia in getting humans to not only the Moon, but eventually Mars whilst also hearing about the state of the art NASA in-situ research facilities which will receive the first samples from Australia’s lunar rover.

Speakers: 
● Dr Shannon Walker, NASA Astronaut
● Aude Vignelles, Chief Technology Officer, Australian Space Agency
● Kevin Farries, Senior Faculty Engineer, University of Adelaide
● Professor Phil Bland, Director, Space Science and Technology Centre, Curtin University

This iconic event was not to be missed and represented one of the foremost events on the national space industry calendar.

Forum Speakers

We are delighted to introduce you to the 16th Australian Space Forum Speakers.

16ASF Speaker Information
Herve Astier

Herve Astier

Chief Executive Officer, Neumann SpaceSpace

David Ball

David Ball

Regional Director Australia New Zealand, Lockheed Martin Space

Dr Paul Bate

Dr Paul Bate

CEO, UK Space Agency

Prof Phil Bland

Prof Phil Bland

Director, Space Science and Technology Centre, Curtin University

Nate Byrne

Nate Byrne

ABC News Breakfast

Prof Erasmo Carrera

Prof Erasmo Carrera

Local Chairman, 75th IAC 2024 Milan

Sebastian Chaoui

Sebastian Chaoui

CEO & Co-founder of Arlula

Dr Kimberley Clayfield

Dr Kimberley Clayfield

Space Research Program Director, CSIRO

Iain Cossar

Iain Cossar

General Manager Science, Innovation and International, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Head of the New Zealand Space Agency

Michael Davis AO

Michael Davis AO

Chair, The Andy Thomas Space Foundation

GPCAPT Patrick Del Guidice

GPCAPT Patrick Del Guidice

Director Capability Strategy, Defence - Space Capabilities Branch

Kevin Farries

Kevin Farries

Senior Faculty Engineer, University of Adelaide

Dr Annie Handmer

Dr Annie Handmer

IPC Co-chair 2024-25, Optus Satellite Policy and Industry Engagement Manager, Optus

Dr Simon Heemstra

Dr Simon Heemstra

Director of Risk Management, NSW Rural Fire Service

Dr Marie Le Pellec

Dr Marie Le Pellec

Space Sustainability Lead, Australian Space Agency

Liesda Marsdon

Liesda Marsdon

Associate Director, Deloitte Access Economics

Christian Meander

Christian Meander

Executive Vice President, In-Space Solutions, Axiom Space

Peter Nikoloff

Peter Nikoloff

Acting Executive Director, The Andy Thomas Space Foundation

Enrico Palermo

Enrico Palermo

Head, Australian Space Agency

Richard Price

Richard Price

Chief Executive, DefenceSA

Jess Saladine

Jess Saladine

Senior Associate – Space, Industry Development and Investment Partnerships, Investment NSW

H.E. Vicki Treadell CMG, MVO

H.E. Vicki Treadell CMG, MVO

British High Commissioner

 Dr Matthew Tetlow

Dr Matthew Tetlow

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Inovor Technologies

Prof Michele Trenti

Prof Michele Trenti

The University of Melbourne

Dr. Shannon Walker

Dr. Shannon Walker

NASA Astronaut

Sybilla Wilson

Sybilla Wilson

IAC Lead, Australian Space Agency

Aude Vignelles

Aude Vignelles

Chief Technology Officer, Australian Space Agency

Lisa Viteris

Lisa Viteris

Director, IAC Sydney 2025, Space Industry Association of Australia

Daniel Wright

Daniel Wright

Director of Product Development, NSW Telco Authority

Exhibition & Sponsorship

The Australian Space Forum series continues to grow through the ongoing support of our sponsors and exhibitors and we thank them for their contribution to the space industry in Australia and around the world.

The 16th Australian Space Forum was proudly supported by the below sponsors and exhibitors who are committed to a thriving space sector. If you would like to enquire on available sponsorship and exhibition packages for the next Forum, please contact spaceforum@andythomas.foundation

Special thanks to our Sponsors and Exhibitors

If you would like to enquire on available sponsorship and exhibition packages for the next forum, please contact  spaceforum@andythomas.foundation

Major Sponsor

Supporting Partners

Platinum Sponsor

16th Australian Space Forum Sponsors

Exhibitors

If you would like to enquire on available exhibition packages, please contact spaceforum@andythomas.foundation

 

A

AMDA Foundation Limited (Platinum Sponsor)
Ant61
Arlula
AROSE
Astroscale (Exhibition Lounge Sponsor)
Australia in Space (Media Partner)
Australian Astronomical Optics
Australian Space Agency (Supporting Partner)
Av-comm Space And Defence
Avnet EM (Australia) Pty Ltd

 

B

Boson Engineering
British High Commission (Gold Sponsor)

Business Events Sydney (BESydney) (Destination Partner)

 

C

Caelera Pty Ltd
Capricorn Space
CGI (Space Passport Sponsor)
Contactile
CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency (Silver Sponsor)

 

 

D

Department of Defence – Defence Space Hub
Deloitte Australia (Gold Sponsor)

 

F

Fleet Space (Foundation Partner)
Futurifai

 

G

GPC Electronics Pty Ltd

 

H

HEO
HEX20 – Azista
Hex20 Pty Ltd
Hypersonix

 

I

iLAuNCH (Innovative Launch, Automation, Novel Materials, Communications, and Hypersonics Hub) (Networking Hour Sponsor)
Industrial Sciences Group
Infinity Avionics
Inovor Technologies
Investment NSW (Major Sponsor)
Italian Trade Agency (Silver Sponsor)

 

J

JAXA

 

L

Leolabs Australia
Lockheed Martin Australia
Lunar Outpost Oceania

 

M

Mawson Rovers

 

N

Nano Vacuum (Foundation Partner)
Neumann Space (Foundation Partner)
Nova Systems

 

O

One Giant Leap Australia Foundation

 

P

Preceptech Ltd

 

Q

QL Space
Quasar Satellite Technologies

 

R

Rohde & Schwarz Australia

 

S

Saab Australia Pty Ltd (Foundation Partner)
Saber Astronautics (Coffee Cart Sponsor)
Scitek Australia Pty Ltd (Foundation Partner)
Silentium Defence
SLM Solutions AG
SmartSat CRC (Networking Dinner Sponsor)
Softwire Systems
South Australian Space Industry Centre (Supporting Partner)
Space BD Inc.
Space Compass (Coffee Cart Sponsor)
Space Machines Company
Sperospace
Spiral Blue
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (Silver Sponsor)

 

T

The Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (Silver Sponsor)
The Andy Thomas Space Foundation (Host)
The University of Adelaide (Silver Sponsor)
The University of South Australia

 

V

Valiant Space
VXB Aerospace Pty Ltd

 

W

Wolfpack Space Hub

 

Y

Young Space Explorers (Space Explorer Sponsor)

1st Australian Space Week

The Andy Thomas Space Foundation proudly presented the First Australian Space Week.  Held in early December, around the 16th Australian Space Forum, this week showcased some of the industries best technologies, innovations and educational developments through a range of events, workshops and experiences.

If you would like to consider registering your own initiative for the next Australian Space Week please regisyter below.

The Andy Thomas Space Foundation proudly presented the First Australian Space Week. 

Space Passport Program

The Space Passport Program, run as part of the Young Space Explorers Event at the 16th Australian Space Forum, encourages students to:

• Talk directly to companies currently involved with the Australian Space Sector,
• Ask companies about current and future careers within their industry,
• Find out about the school and tertiary pathways needed to enter the discussed careers.
• For more information about the Young Space Explorers event, click here 

Media Gallery

3rd ATSF Networking Dinner

Download the Australian Space Forum App

We encourage all delegates to download the Forum app. You can connect to the app through your relevant app store. Once downloaded, open the app and enter the event code 16ASF.

Use the app to:

– View the full program
– Join in the Q&A
– Rate, comment and take notes on sessions you attend
– Locate exhibitors you want to visit
– Connect with other delegates, plus more!*

* Please note that attendees must be signed into the app to view messages.