Huge congratulations to The Australian National University, the largest contributor of abstracts to this year's IAC2024. Seven ANU academics have had a total of nine abstracts accepted into this year's IAC - 14-18 October in Milan - and two of these contributors are our own ANU InSpace Business Development Managers, Anupam Kumar Pilli and Natasha Disha.

The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) is the premier global space event that brings together the brightest minds from industry, academia, and government. Every year, space professionals from around the world converge to exchange knowledge, showcase new innovations, and discuss the future of space exploration and commercialisation. With participants from both established space nations and emerging space economies, the IAC is pivotal in shaping the global space industry by fostering collaborations and accelerating breakthroughs.

At this year's IAC, ANU InSpace Business Development Manager, Anupam Kumar Pilli, is proud to put a spotlight on the National Space Qualification Network (NSQN) through his paper titled "Enhancing Australia's Space Capabilities through Public-Private Partnerships: Insights from the National Space Qualification Network (NSQN) Project."

This paper highlights the role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in transforming Australia's space ecosystem by enhancing and establishing space qualification infrastructure. Through the NSQN, a collaborative effort backed by the Australian Space Agency Space Infrastructure Fund and support from ACT Government, we’ve been able to pool resources, expertise, and innovation from leading public institutions like the The Australian National University (ANU), the University of Wollongong (UOW), and ANSTO, and private industry like Saber Astronautics, Nova Systems Australia and New Zealand, and Steritech Australia.

By leveraging the expertise of both public and private sectors, the NSQN has accelerated the development of space technologies in Australia, reducing costs and time to market for startups and SMEs. The success of the NSQN and the integration of PPPs into the project demonstrates the transformative power of collaboration. By sharing resources, knowledge, and risks, both public institutions and private companies can achieve far more together than they could alone. This is a key takeaway for nations and industries looking to strengthen their presence in the global space ecosystem.

We hope to see you at IAC2024! Come say hello to Anupam and Natasha, as well as the other five ANU representatives: Junichiro Kawaguchi, Elisa Jager, Eduardo Trifoni, Karthika Prasad, and Dominic Wilcox.

ANU Research and Innovation