Discover Space Science

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Brett Carter: My name's Dr. Brett Carter, and I'm one of the course lecturers that you'll encounter in RMIT's Bachelor of Space Science Program. I'm a space physicist by trade, and as an active researcher in RMIT's Space Research Center, I do research in space weather and space situational awareness. I'm here to talk to you today about our Bachelor of Space Science Program, which is running for the first time in 2020. I'll provide an overview of the three year program, covering the courses that you'll be enrolled in, and talk about how this degree has been tailored to fit Australia's growing need for expertise in space science in the competitive global space industry. Welcome. 

So before I start, I'd like to acknowledge the people of the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung language groups in the Eastern Kulin nations, whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT respectfully acknowledges their ancestors and elders, past, present and emerging. While we conduct our work remotely, I want to pay my respects to the wider unceded lands of this nation. 

There's never been a more exciting time to get involved in space science in Australia. We finally got our National Space Agency, and in addition to that, the government is making strategic choices to make sure that Australia gets a stake in the global space industry. You'll find that there's no degree program anything like this in Australia, and this is because we're in a good position to provide a unique mix of physics, engineering, geospatial science, mathematics, and some specialized space studies, which will equip the students really well with going out and participating in the Australian space sector. 

In terms of entry requirements. We're looking for an ATAR of about 80, and we're also looking for a study score in English of 30 or more. In addition to that, we're also looking for maths methods or specialists mathematics with skill scores above 20. From the course structure here, we can see that we've put together multiple courses from physics, maths, science, geospatial, engineering, and also thrown in some electives as well. In addition to that, we've got four new courses that are specifically tailored for the Space Science program. This includes space exploration and satellites and space debris in year one, rocket science in year two and micro gravity science in year three. There's also an opportunity to work directly with industry partners inside the space industry in Australia on a science project, or as part of work experience. 

We have several really useful facilities at RMIT to help us deliver this Space Science program. One of them is the virtual mission control lab imaged here, where we have two screen walls for this particular lab. So far, we've been using it to teach our space where the prediction lab and to also conduct our mission control lab. There's also a Space Physics Lab. RMIT actually has its own Optical Observatory out at the Bundoora campus that we use for space tracking, so satellites in space debris imaging. There's a Space Radiation Lab. There's the HIVE Rocketry Lab, Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Lab, Advanced Manufacturing Precinct, the Space Research Center and the Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre. 

So in terms of industry connections, we've actually designed this program in consultation with several groups within the Australian space industry. This includes the Space Agency itself, the BAE Systems, Boeing. There's also Equatorial Launch Australia, ESA, Kyushu University in Japan, NASA, Novespace, Space Applications Services, and Texas A&M University. 

Listed here are the industry partners that had a direct stake helping us develop this course and tailoring it to make sure that it is meeting their needs for graduates in the space industry. These include Aerospace Systems, ARPANSA, Beings Systems, Black Sky Aerospace, the Bureau of Meteorology in particular, the Space Weather Services Group there, CSIRO, DST, Electro Optic Systems, Frontier SI, Geoplex/Nova Systems, Geoscience Australia, Lockheed Martin, and Saber Aeronautics. 

As I mentioned before in the course structure, there will be several opportunities to actually engage directly with our industry partners on science projects. For example, there's the opportunity to learn to build rockets. There's also an opportunity to actively monitor space weather in consultation with the Space Weather Services branch at the Bureau of Meteorology. This is actually a really important part of space science and space activities. 

Studying at RMIT provides heaps of global opportunities with its 215 partnerships with universities around the world, particularly across Asia, Europe, and North America. 

So as you can tell from our course structure, we're really trying to maximize the career outcomes for our students. We're looking to provide them with expertise that'll help them go down the many paths in their careers, including what's listed here. Space Industry Consultants, Space Surveillance Specialists. It also includes Space Debris Tracking, the Scientists, the Payload Scientists, Flight Controller and Mission Controller. 

Keep in mind these important dates. We've got the 22nd until the 25th of February for orientation. Classes begin on March 1st. And the last day to enroll for Semester 1 is on March 8th. 

Let me end by saying thank you for taking the time to hear about our fantastic Space Science program at RMIT. For more information about Space Science at RMIT, check out our website or call study at RMIT on 99252260. Like many others, I've been passionate about space since I was a child. And I'm really looking forward to welcoming you passionate space farers out there to learn more about Space Science at RMIT. 

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