Access To Space in the Southern Hemisphere

Book excerpt: The space sector worldwide is experiencing a shift from traditional activities involving large heavy launch vehicles and satellites to a much faster paced NewSpace paradigm. NewSpace is primarily driven by private organizations and is characterised by smaller and lighter missions involving Smallsats. The space launch sector is primarily the domain of the Northern Hemisphere, however, this is beginning to change as Southern Hemisphere nations seek to pursue access to space in their own right. This report considers three scenarios through which Southern Hemisphere nations may pursue access to space. The third of these scenarios is then expanded upon to explore the benefits of an international collaborative framework to facilitate this access. Australia is used as a case study to identify considerations for enabling access within the framework.