This week, the Australian Space Summit is celebrating some of our nation’s strengths and achievements in the space sector. But it’s taking place under the shadow of significant cuts to space technology investment announced in last week’s federal budget.
the Australian Space Summit is celebrating some of our nation’s strengths and achievements in the space sector. But it’s taking place under the shadow of significant cuts to space technology investment announced in last week’s federal budget.
Space technologies play a critical role in responding to many national priorities, such as climate and disaster resilience, connecting regional Australians, contributing to regional security and driving economic growth. Yet, the sector suffers from a branding issue—most people think of rockets and astronauts, rather than the satellites we depend on globally.
This leads to a misunderstanding in government of the importance of space technologies to the issues we are seeking to solve. It also makes it harder to recruit talented people to the field.
So, how do we find enough people with the skills necessary to grow this critical technology sector?
The answer is placing a new priority on talent recruitment and expanding diversity and inclusivity in the space sector.
The space sector needs workers from all different backgrounds and disciplines, but is struggling to attract a diverse talent pool. This is due to a misconception that space only offers STEM-related jobs, as well as the overwhelmingly white and male make-up of the space industry, government and academia.
This not only impacts the workforce pipeline, but also potentially the sector’s funding, due to a limited view of what kinds of solutions the space sector can provide to society’s biggest challenges.
This is an urgent public relations issue for the space sector.
