SPACE INDUSTRY & INNOVATION

Transcription

1 Innovation Lecture 2014 BEYOND EARTH SPACE INDUSTRY & INNOVATION PRESENTED BY Enrico Palermo Vice President, Operations The Spaceship Company networking innovation

2 The Warren Centre welcomes you to the 2014 Innovation Lecture BEYOND EARTH SPACE INDUSTRY & INNOVATION Astronomy compels the soul to look upward, and leads us from this world to another. ~ Plato, The Republic 342 B.C.

3 SPONSORS The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering sincerely thanks the following sponsors for their generous support. 1 HOSTING PARTNERS: STUDENT EVENT HOST: The Warren Centre thanks Enrico Palermo for his incredible generosity in sharing his time, experience and insights as a global leader and Australian innovator.

4 2 THE WARREN CENTRE Welcome to The Warren Centre s 2014 Innovation Lecture. For over 30 years, The Warren Centre has fulfilled a unique role in promoting Australian innovation and acknowledging the individuals, the profession and the industries that have delivered the marvels of technology that define our modern society and high quality of living. William Henry Warren migrated to Australia in 1881 to supervise public infrastructure projects vital to the development of the growing colony. In 1883, Professor Warren delivered the inaugural engineering lecture at the University of Sydney. Later he led the founding of the Institution of Engineers Australia and published treatises on the engineering materials of the day: iron, steel and timber. In the century that followed, Australia s engineering capability has advanced far beyond the industrial revolution and the age of the eponymous steam engines that defined the early days of the profession. Indeed, a new revolution is underway that yields remarkable, unexpected improvements in our lives and continues to deliver on a daily basis advances in technology that could not be imagined just a few years ago. Technology and innovation are not just advancing; they are accelerating. Looking back at the history of the Innovation Lecture, we see a timeline of icons of technological and commercial success in Australia. We realise that each of these entrepreneurs and innovators created and led a vision for the future. Each imagined a new reality and made that vision become alive. Tonight, we hear a new chapter. Tonight, we go Beyond Earth. Since the beginning of time, the sons and daughters of the Earth have looked up at the night time sky and imagined what it would be like to fly to the heavens. That dream has inspired six decades of endeavour and innovation. Enrico Palermo is Vice President, Operations, The Spaceship Company and currently leads the world s first corporation building a fleet of commercial manned spaceships. An engineering and sciences graduate from the University of Western Australia, Enrico has moved from Perth to London and on to Mojave, California during the commercial development of Virgin Galactic s enterprise. The Warren Centre fosters interaction among industry, academia and government. We recognise those engineers and innovators who dare to dream of a better world with new ideas. We celebrate their successes, and we seek to inspire the next generation of thought leaders whose dreams will define our future. Ashley Brinson Executive Director The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering

5 The Warren Centre years of highlighting the incredible achievements ofaustralian innovators : Beyond Earth Enrico Palermo, VP Operations, The Spaceship Company (Virgin Galactic) 2013: Thinking Big & Making It Happen Dr Alex Zelinsky, Chief Defence Scientist, DSTO 2012: Innovation in Motion Conquering the Global Automotive Industry Ric Tamba, Senior Vice President Car Transmissions Global, AVL 2011: Making MAPTEK Innovation in the Mining Industry Dr Bob Johnson, Founder & Chairman MAPTEK 2010: The Robots Are Coming! The Robotics Revolution in Australian Industry Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte FRS, Research Director, Australian Centre for Field Robotics 2009: From Australia to the World: The Story of Google Maps & Google Wave Dr Lars Rasmussen, Google 2008: The Art and Practice of Engineering in a Digital World Tristram Carfrae, Structural Design Engineer & ARUP Fellow 2007: Technology Magic Spitting Chips and Global Success Dr Chris Nicol, Chief Technology Officer (Embedded Systems), NICTA 2006: Childhood Dreams Made Real Don Fry AO, Owner and Chairman, AIMTEK 2005: Where s Waldo? Tenix s Global Search for Innovative Solutions Paul Salteri, Managing Director, Tenix Pty Limited 2004: Our Time (Zone) is Coming Dr Keith Williams AM, CEO, Proteome Systems Ltd 2003: The Money or The Box Lessons from Looksmart Evan Thornley, Chair, Looksmart Ltd 2002: Why Is It So Difficult to Develop Great Ideas and Inventions in Australia: Australians Can Make It Dr Jim Fox, Managing Director, Vision Systems Limited 2001: Building an Innovative Global Enterprise from Australia Peter Fogarty, CEO, ERG Group 2000: Managing the Innovative Global Enterprise Catherine Livingstone, Managing Director, Cochlear Limited 1999: Value Creation Through Innovation Denis Hanley 1998: Transnational Strategies to Drive Point of Sale Technology Innovation John Wood, Managing Director, Keycorp 1997: The Practical Nature of Innovation in Australian Large Businesses Jerry Ellis, Chairman-elect, BHP Co Ltd 1996: Technology and Innovation in the America s Cup Challenge and for Australia John Bertrand AM 3

6 4 BEYOND EARTH SPACE INDUSTRY & INNOVATION PRESENTED BY Enrico Palermo Vice President, Operations The Spaceship Company View of Earth from SpaceShipOne in What is happening in space innovation today and why should you be excited about it? What elements are essential for innovation in space? What could Australia do to return to the international space stage from some very exciting beginnings? I believe we are at a pivotal point in our history, an inflection point, when humankind s presence in space will grow rapidly, grow exponentially and importantly grow permanently. We are entering a period when it will be relatively common for all of us to know someone who has gone to space to do business (in markets that don t even exist today), to travel, to do research and to explore. Just think about that for a moment! WHEN DO WE GET TO GO? For as long as our species has looked up at the stars there has been an inbuilt, some would say genetic, human desire to explore our solar system and the universe beyond it. The 1960s and 1970s saw humans leave the safety of our planet and atmosphere for the first time, ushering in an expectation for a whole generation of a future where they too could have the opportunity to leave our planet. Encouraged by the rapid successes of the space race, popular culture envisioned such a future 2001: A Space Odyssey, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and so-on. Sadly, with the fortunate ending of the geopolitical motivations that drove the space race, this future never developed and many of the children who watched the moon landings were left wanting for more. Today in September 2014, the only means of putting a human in space is aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket which is really a throwback to technologies first used in the 1960s but that s all about to change. Through the injection of private capital and the resulting proliferation of 'NewSpace' companies worldwide, innovation in the space industry is at the pace only seen once before back in the Apollo era. Much more than space tourism, new markets and new technology are being developed to serve a variety of needs in space and importantly here on Earth. This is not about the generation of more spinoff space technologies it is much more profound and much more remarkable. I am proud and very motivated to play a part in this new movement. For a long time I have had a keen interest in science, mathematics and their application to how things work. As a teenager I started to develop a penchant and passion for space exploration and space science. Like many, I want to be an astronaut when I grow up

7 and I am never deterred by skepticism on the possibility of that ever happening. It was a relatively easy decision for me to pick a double bachelor s degree in Science (Physics, Applied Mathematics) and Engineering (Mechanical) at the University of Western Australia (UWA). The double degree course offered a broad skills, experience and communication base which I knew would be important in developing my career. Whilst studying at UWA I could see that my career had the opportunity to take many different paths. I intended to pick up engineering design experience early in my career although I felt my strengths were in leadership and project management. Although I had a passion for space I knew that the likelihood of securing a career in that field, particularly in Australia at that time, was limited and pursuing a career in space would necessitate moving overseas so much so that I decided to take German lessons in my final years at UWA so I could target space organisations in Europe. Looking back, pursuing opportunities with vigour in diverse fields and real-world projects during my studies at UWA was critical for formulating my career. For example, I joined the inaugural UWA Motorsport (UWAM) Formula-SAE team in 2001 working on the car s wiring and electrical systems, followed by the fuel systems in the 2002 car. I was fortunate to be the first driver of a UWAM car in competition. Projects like Formula-SAE are invaluable experiences as they require multi-disciplinary teams working together to achieve common goals. I also completed a Co-operative Education for Enterprise Development (CEED) project with Rio Tinto in mine planning as part of my Mathematics honours thesis. This project exposed me to the challenges BEYOND EARTH Space Industry & Innovation of optimisation in a practical environment while dealing with immense amounts of data. Finally, I picked up great experience on vacation employment at every opportunity including spending time at Woodside Energy s Karratha LNG plant and working with Andersen Consulting on an enterprise-wide IT systems implementation and business process re-engineering project. AN INFLECTION POINT Approximately 545 humans have been to space since Yuri Gagarin s historic flight in All but two of these individuals, Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie who flew on SpaceShipOne in 2004, flew to space on government funded vehicles and flight programs. This means in 53 years of human space flight we have sent on average just over ten new people to space per annum. If you compare that pace to the adoption of other technologies over much shorter timelines, the pace is less than stimulating and can hardly encourage investment, rapid innovation, development of new technologies and 21st century inspiration for our children to pursue studies and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The coming years are going to see the introduction of several private spaceships into service including Virgin s SpaceShipTwo, SpaceX s Dragon and Sierra Nevada Corporation s Dream Chaser. Counting the contribution of SpaceShipTwo alone, which can carry up to 8 crew (2 astronaut pilots and 6 new astronauts) and assuming one flight per month it is easy to see there will be a rapid increase in the rate at which humans travel to space. SpaceShipTwo s operations are expected to mature rapidly to flights every week and eventually faster through the introduction of new SpaceShipTwos to the fleet. Never again will humans visit space at the rate of 10 people per annum that s why I and hopefully you are very excited about what is happening this transition, or inflection point, will never happen again in human history. Another illustrating data point is that Virgin Galactic s astronaut core, a very unique and special set of individuals worldwide, is now larger (over 700) than the total number of humans that have ever flown into space. 5 Virgin Galactic s Future Astronaut core is now over 700 individuals from 58 countries around the world.

8 BEYOND EARTH Space Industry & Innovation 6 Second serial number SpaceShipTwo SS2-002 in assembly. You may have picked up above that I referenced a fleet of spaceships; much like an airline needs a fleet of aircraft, a spaceline needs a fleet of spaceships to provide robust and flexible commercial operations. My task since joining Virgin Galactic back in 2006 has been to setup and lead the operations of the world s first commercial manned spaceship production company, called The Spaceship Company. We build spaceships is our much beloved tagline. I am proud to say the development of the world s first commercial manned spaceship fleet IS happening. The second SpaceShipTwo is into advanced stages of assembly in our hangar in Mojave, California and is scheduled to start flight tests in We have started fabrication of the next WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft and shortly will turn our attention to the third SpaceShipTwo. The inflection point in my career that steered me to my current role at The Spaceship Company was a decision by my wife Nadia and me to leave Perth in pursuit of my dreams. I started my career as a mechanical engineer at Woodside Energy in the oil and gas industry, where my primary responsibility was supporting offshore platform operations. I picked up critical project engineering skills leading major capital upgrade projects as well as learning practices in risk management that I continue to use today. Although Woodside was a great company to work for and I am very grateful for my experiences there, I knew I was not fulfilling all of my personal ambitions and addressing my passions for space. Nadia and I decided to quit our rewarding resource industry jobs in Perth and moved to London in 2005 this gamble was a huge lateral step in our careers that literally opened us up to a world of opportunities. SPEEDING UP History has shown that when technology is introduced which increases the average speed at which the general populace can travel there are tremendous advances in civilisation, technology, health, science and other key indicators the wheel, horse and carriage, ships, trains, automobiles, and aircraft are fine examples. Except for a small blip with the Concorde and Tupolev Tu-144, we have been travelling at the same speed on airliners for well over 50 years. This is another area where the rapid growth of the commercial space industry offers much promise and advancement. It is feasible through the extension of the technologies being used and developed today to offer point-to-point travel with the potential to reduce the travel time from Sydney to London, for example, to the order of a few hours. Fellow Australian students at the International Space University, In 2006 before joining Virgin Galactic, I was awarded a scholarship from the European Space Agency to study at the International Space University (ISU) in Strasbourg, France. ISU is a

9 unique, world-class, well-connected institution that I highly recommend for those pursuing a career in the space industry. To study at ISU, I once took the risk and lateral step of quitting a job in London at a small startup company, in pursuit of kick-starting a career in space. It was at ISU that I met and formed a relationship with the former Chief Operating Officer of Virgin Galactic, Alex Tai, ultimately leading to me joining Virgin Galactic in November Whilst at ISU I authored a paper identifying that the nascent suborbital spaceflight industry is an important enabler for the development of a commercial suborbital point-to-point industry one that allows us to leap across the technology adoption chasm between early adoption and the mass market for point-to-point travel. For example, although SpaceShipTwo cannot fly point-to-point long distance, its operations will demonstrate that high speed travel (more than 3x the speed of sound) can be achieved safely, frequently and cheaply. It will enable us to learn how to integrate space operations in the national airspace. It will test the necessary regulatory legal framework. It will test out technologies such as environmental control systems and test systems for repeated use in microgravity. It will use vehicles that fly supersonically and out of the atmosphere at unprecedented rates. It is also developing the factories, skillsets, processes and teams to deliver the spaceships of the future. ENABLING INNOVATION IN SPACE Innovation is not technical invention only not by a long shot. Based on my experiences and observations, I have identified what I believe are the key elements supporting innovation in Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company and the wider NewSpace industry: Inspiration Technology Commercial Enterprise The Team Technology Transfer Public/Private Investment Supporting Regulatory Framework BEYOND EARTH Space Industry & Innovation other operations. However it was not until the early 2000s that Branson and Virgin leadership found a technology in SpaceShipOne that could potentially realise this ambition. A key protagonist in the development of SpaceShipOne was the visionary entrepreneur Dr. Peter Diamandis. Diamandis realised that prizes had been life changing and transformational catalysts in developing industries such as transcontinental airliner transportation for example, the US$25,000 Orteig Prize offered for the first aviator to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice versa, successfully claimed by American Charles Lindberg aboard the Spirit of St. Louis. With this realisation and a desire to accelerate the pace of innovation in human space flight, Diamandis founded the Ansari X Prize a US$10M prize for the first non-government organisation to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. The winner of the Ansari X Prize in October 2004 was SpaceShipOne, funded by Paul Allen co-founder of Microsoft and built by Scaled Composites, the company founded by aerospace engineer and legend Burt Rutan. SpaceShipOne flew into space from Mojave, California three times in 2004, with the last two flights claiming the prize. The Ansari X Prize had successfully inspired the Scaled Composites team to achieve what no company or no government had ever done before and that laid the foundation for the formation of The Spaceship Company and Virgin Galactic. Below: After claiming the Ansari X Prize, SpaceShipOne was retired and is now housed at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. 7 INSPIRATION As prefaced before, a lot of people including Sir Richard Branson were inspired by the moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s and thought when do I get to go? In the 1990s Virgin Group registered the name Virgin Galactic for a future business that would complement Virgin Group s successful airline, train, retail and

10 8 BEYOND EARTH Space Industry & Innovation Like Rutan, Diamandis, Branson and Allen, Australia has world-class scientists, engineers, and successful business leaders achieving tremendous things on the world stage that I believe can achieve similar feats in space and other high tech industries. Take for example Australian-born Dr. Andrew Thomas, a personal inspiration for my career. Dr. Thomas became a NASA astronaut and flew into space on four separate occasions including spending over four months aboard the Russian Mir Space Station. In Australia, I think we can do a much better job of recognising our world renowned scientists, engineers and business professionals like Dr. Thomas which can only serve to inspire the next generation to follow in their footsteps. As a demonstration of the ability for NewSpace companies to inspire, an organisation called Galactic Unite was established in 2010 in partnership with Virgin Galactic and Virgin Unite (Virgin Group s philanthropic arm). Galactic Unite is the global vehicle for the Virgin Galactic Future Astronaut community to channel its collective energy and resources to achieve positive change in the world. The Galactic Unite team is united by the belief that the world needs to increase opportunities for young people to learn and apply STEM skills and technologies to social and environmental challenges. Galactic Unite has a global scholarship and mentor program targeted specifically at this objective. I have had the opportunity to meet with some of Galactic Unite s bright and talented scholarship recipients. TECHNOLOGY As you might expect, having the right technology is critical to innovation in space. There are many new platforms being introduced to the market but I want to highlight SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo that our company is co-developing. SpaceShipTwo and its mothership WhiteKnightTwo were an evolution of the successful concept-proving platform of SpaceShipOne and WhiteKnight, developed by Scaled Composites. Innovation through the combination of four key technologies Carbon Composite Construction, Air-Launch, Hybrid Rocket Motor and Care-Free Re-entry is what makes these platforms ground-breaking and why our team is so excited about their potential. Carbon Composites These vehicles are all carbon composite construction and assembly. To put that into perspective the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is approximately 50% carbon composite. Carbon fibre structures are very stiff and strong, but also incredibly lightweight translating into fuel savings and increased payload capability. When designed correctly, carbon fibre structures are corrosion resistant, fatigue insensitive and structurally efficient as material is placed exactly where it is needed. WhiteKnightTwo will be the largest all-composite aircraft in commercial service for several years. Air-Launch Both SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo are airlaunched by their mothership at altitude. Air-launch in this fashion allows the use of turbofan engines in the thicker parts of the atmosphere where they are most efficient and the use of a rocket motor in the thinner part of the atmosphere where they are most efficient. A key safety advantage of air-launch is the ability to abort a mission relatively simply. At any point in the mission the spaceship has the ability to glide home safely. WhiteKnightTwo taking off with SpaceShipTwo.

11 BEYOND EARTH Space Industry & Innovation Testing SpaceShipTwo s feather on the ground in flight it acts like a badminton shuttlecock. 9 Hybrid Rocket Motor These spaceships are powered by a hybrid rocket motor. For SpaceShipTwo we are developing the world s largest commercial hybrid rocket motor. You can think of a hybrid rocket motor as a hybrid between a solid rocket motor and a liquid rocket motor, exhibiting advantages in terms of simplicity, safety and cost. The fuels we use are relatively benign and we have the ability to shut down a motor at any time should there be an anomaly. Care-Free Re-entry The final key technology is very unique SpaceShipTwo and SpaceShipOne are vehicles that travel more than three times the speed of sound but also fold in half during part of their trajectory to enable a safe re-entry into Earth s atmosphere. Traditionally there are two methods employed to re-enter earth s atmosphere. The first is a capsule, like that employed on Apollo, Soyuz and Space X s Dragon module. A capsule punches through the atmosphere in a very stable aerodynamic configuration a very successful and reliable re-entry technology still used widely today. A capsule s main downside is that once you start re-entering the atmosphere you have limited, if any, ability to change your landing location without the addition of complex ancillary landing systems. The second method is to use a winged spacecraft like the North American X-15 or the Space Shuttle. Winged spacecraft have the utility of being able to navigate to a runway once they enter the atmosphere which provides operational flexibility and a predictable landing. A winged spacecraft s main downside is that when re-entering earth s atmosphere it is vital to very accurately control the vehicles attitude and aerodynamic parameters to avoid burning up on re-entry for the vehicle occupants. SpaceShipOne s and SpaceShipTwo s patented feathering system takes the best of both worlds a care-free re-entry like that of a capsule and the versatility of wings after re-entry for landing. The best analogy of how the feather system works aerodynamically is a badminton shuttlecock. No matter which way a shuttlecock flies it always comes down to Earth with its ball down and feathers up aerodynamically this is what SpaceShipOne s and SpaceShipTwo s wings do when they are in their feather position permitting a stable and carefree re-entry. COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE You can have great technology but cannot do much without a view to and understanding of how to commercialise it properly. Until the successful flights of SpaceShipOne in 2004, spaceflight had been the domain of government space agencies. Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company are 100% privately funded and many other NewSpace companies are similar in nature. As a pre-revenue startup we need to continually marshal our resources exactly to the point we need them. This makes us efficient and nimble, and enables us to deliver a manned space flight program at cost levels not achievable with a government program. This reflects a paradigm shift no longer do countries, like Australia for example, require a national space agency to have a manned spaceflight program. Other options are available to enable a longer term view towards science and innovation in space.

12 BEYOND EARTH Space Industry & Innovation LauncherOne attached to WhiteKnightTwo (simulation). 10 TSC s president Doug Shane and I are located on TSC s main hangar shop floor, not in a corporate office this puts us right in the thick of the action. I think this is symbolic of the entrepreneurial spirit you see in the NewSpace industry leadership we re there to get the job done, work hard and are intimately involved in the day-to-day operations to ensure there is open communication which is critical to our safety and long term success. Virgin Galactic s launch and primary business is of course enabling people to realise their dreams and ambitions of flying into space but our mission extends far beyond that as you would expect from any enterprise. As a commercial enterprise, we are developing products for multiple markets. For example, Virgin Galactic has contracted with NASA to perform suborbital research aboard SpaceShipTwo. Recently we announced our first research flight manifests some really exciting research will be conducted on 3-D printers in space, collecting stability data for a prototype orbiting fuel depot, a cryogenic fuel pump system which can pump fuel without turbo machinery and testing a two-phase flow system which has applications including water purification in space. Real science, real research and not just an out-of-this-world experience which we can do cheaper, more reliably and more repeatable than ever before. In the future, I see opportunities for Australian universities and research institutions to develop experiments to fly aboard SpaceShipTwo and other vehicles at unprecedented costs and reliability with human-in-the-loop capability. Updating Sir Richard Branson on our progress in Mojave. We are also developing LauncherOne, a revolutionary small satellite launcher that will be air-launched from WhiteKnightTwo. Revolutionary because of its low cost, operational flexibility, reliability and as it addresses an underserved small satellite launch market. THE TEAM I do not mean to sound cliché, but you really do need the best people and the best talent. Virgin Galactic and The Spaceship Company are the marriage of two great organisations, experiences and teams.

13 The first organisation is Scaled Composites, founded by aerospace genius Burt Rutan. Based in Mojave, California, Scaled Composites are world-renowned for developing unique manned and unmanned aircraft for a variety of applications with a special expertise in all-composite aircraft. They of course developed the successful SpaceShipOne and developed and built the first SpaceShipTwo in flight test now. I feel very privileged to have worked with this organisation intimately over the last 8 years. They are now building the world s largest aircraft, the Stratolaunch carrier aircraft whose wing span is over 380 feet (or 115 metres). The second organisation is Virgin Group founded by Sir Richard Branson a successful, venture capital group with a global presence in many markets. What Virgin brings to the mix is experience in safely operating airlines, train lines and other operations, an ability to enter established markets and shake them up, and a determined focus on delivering excellent The Spaceship Company s main assembly hangar in Mojave, California. customer service. What two better founding fathers than in Burt Rutan and Richard Branson could a company ask for! The Spaceship Company team is now over 275 employees and contractors spread over 175,000 square feet (over 16,000 square metres) of state-of-the-art facilities. The company is an incredible mixing pot of experience and talent that I am incredibly proud and humbled to have established and be part of. BEYOND EARTH Space Industry & Innovation TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER My first two years at Virgin Galactic were focused on business planning for The Spaceship Company and management of the vehicle development contract with Scaled Composites. After two years, right before WhiteKnightTwo started its flight test program, the company decided it was time to turn that business plan into a reality. Once again, Nadia and I uprooted our lives and moved from London to Mojave, California (talk about culture shock!). When we arrived all we started with was a tiny leased office at Mojave Air and Space Port with self-assembled desks. A key reason we located The Spaceship Company in Mojave is that we have a tremendous amount of knowledge to transfer from Scaled Composites. The adage that technology transfer is a contact sport certainly rings true. If I was to summarise all my time at Virgin Galactic in one task or responsibility it would be technology transfer. I had to learn, develop and implement strategies to ensure successful transition of know how both codified (what is written down) and tacit (what is in people s heads). Applying technical invention to create innovation is reliant upon successful technology transfer without it commercialisation of a product will not go smoothly and many businesses have faltered at the step of transferring technology from an R&D environment. PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP It is very difficult, if not impossible, for commercial entities to develop key infrastructure like national airspaces, spaceports that support multiple tenants and as well as foster regulations to encourage innovation. This is where Government can assist to create that perfect mix of public and private investment in developing a commercial space industry. As an example, Virgin Galactic s operating headquarters will be based in the US state of New Mexico. The State of New Mexico has built the world s first purpose built spaceport, Spaceport America, with Virgin Galactic 11 Spaceport America in New Mexico.

14 12 BEYOND EARTH Space Industry & Innovation as its anchor tenant. The state of New Mexico views the spaceport as an economic development hub, a place to create high tech jobs as well as inspire its youth to pursue careers in STEM. Recently I researched spaceport development around the world and its clear there are many places around the globe that are assessing the feasibility of, or in active development of, a spaceport capability. Many nations are vying for a slice of the action in space innovation. In order to attract this new industry, many sites are implementing legislation and financial incentives to woo the key industry players. Australia of course has its historical spaceport Woomera in South Australia, but beyond that Australia does not appear to have a strong interest currently in pursuing a commercial spaceport in a similar vein. SUPPORTING REGULATORY FRAMEWORK The United States has been visionary in adopting a set of regulations within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that fosters, and importantly does not prematurely overregulate the development of, the commercial space industry. If you flash back to 2004, SpaceShipOne was about to fly into space, amongst other entrants in the Ansari X Prize. The US Congress, the FAA and industry realised that a set of rules did not exist to govern this new activity. The US Congress passed an Amendment to the Commercial Space Launch Act an Act which had traditionally governed the launches of large satellite rockets like Delta and Titan. The Amendment gave the FAA Office of Commercial Transportation (FAA- AST) the jurisdiction to implement a set of rules for the operations of these new suborbital vehicles like SpaceShipOne. What resulted was a set of rules which appropriately constrained the operations to protect the uninvolved public but was intentionally not prescriptive on the design and manufacture of spaceships, recognising there was many different technology solutions for access to space and not a one-size-fits-all approach. Such regulations have made companies like Virgin Galactic a reality. To foster the development and operation of commercial spaceflights in Australia, Australia s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) should consider studying these FAA-AST regulations and look at implementing a similar regulatory framework to get the nascent industry off the ground in Australia. WHERE TO NEXT? At The Spaceship Company and Virgin Galactic we are building the world s first spaceline something no one has ever done before. There is no yardstick for what hasn t been done before we are ultimately driven by achieving milestones and ensuring the safety of our product. I have found that genuinely caring for the wellbeing and morale of my teams has been an asset in my career so far. Keeping a calm demeanour in stressful or pressure situations has also been important so you can think clearly through issues. Working for a startup requires me to be adaptable things never pan out exactly as you expect so you need to be open to making course corrections. I have been fortunate to have some amazing experiences in my career so far and I do not want it to end there. I have had to make sacrifices, the hardest being away from loved family and friends, Astronaut training and take a few gambles NASTAR Center Centrifuge, Philadelphia along the way in a career path that has been relatively non-linear. The only advice I can give is to DREAM BIG the opportunities for professionals with STEM backgrounds is immense and are only limited by one s own imagination. My desk at The Spaceship Company on our main shop floor.

15 CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING THE WARREN CENTRE FOR ADVANCED ENGINEERING LIMITED Australia s premier independent think-tank on transformative engineering issues The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering is an independent, industry-linked institute committed to fostering excellence and innovation in technology and engineering throughout Australia. With over 30 years of experience, The Warren Centre continues to deliver innovative projects through industry collaboration and support. These initiatives have led to new approaches in Australian infrastructure, technology and engineering, while enabling greater links between government and industry. CONTACT Ashley Brinson, Executive Director Tel: Fax: warrenc@sydney.edu.au PUBLICATION DISCLAIMER The ideas and assertions put forward in this handbook are from the presentation of the 2014 Warren Centre Innovation Lecture series held in Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth. While a review and editing process has been performed on the material, it is not the intention of The Warren Centre or its management or the Centre s many sponsors, or the events sponsors to present a formal Warren Centre, the University of Sydney or sponsor view of any of the matters presented. While care has been taken in compiling the information presented in this book with regards to accuracy, no responsibility will be accepted for errors or omissions. COPYRIGHT The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering Limited, August 2014 Room 530 Level 5 School of Information Technologies J12 UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY NSW 2006 Telephone: (02) Facsimile: (02) This document is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. wc2716-0

16 Published by: The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering Limited Designed and produced by: creativehq networking innovation Established within the Faculty of Engineering in 1983 to mark 100 years of engineering education at the University of Sydney