Aussie scientists key in SpaceX contract

31 May 2012, 5:07 pm   -   Source: AAP

Australian scientists are helping American corporation SpaceX towards a big contract with NASA.

The Dragon capsule's splashdown in the early hours of Friday morning will earn a $US1.6 billion ($A1.65 billion) NASA contract, and US corporation SpaceX can thank a group of Australian scientists.

The University of Tasmania's Mt Pleasant Observatory, 20km east of Hobart, has played a key role in the history-making mission.

The observatory's 12-metre telescope helped track Dragon while it became the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS).

It could play a more crucial role yet, with the space above Tasmania one of two places the Dragon's rockets could be fired as it prepares for its re-entry and splashdown off the coast of Los Angeles.

"They sought us out because of the location of Tasmania," Professor John Dickey explained.

"Tasmania is in a very particular place if you want to bring a spacecraft back down into the ocean off of Los Angeles.

"It has to leave the space station, fire its rockets and then re-enter the atmosphere pretty much right over Tasmania."

The successful recovery of the unmanned capsule is expected to trigger the huge contract with NASA, which lost the ability to deliver to and from the ISS with the end of the space shuttle program.

Currently the Russian space program is the only one capable of performing the task, and it charges $US60 million per person for a trip to the ISS.

SpaceX, which is short for Space Exploration Technologies Corp, is the brainchild of Silicon Valley billionaire Elon Musk.

The company aims to run cargo to the ISS for NASA by the end of the year and carry people within two to five years, but it isn't stopping there.

"The dream and the goal of the company (in 25-30 years) is ultimately to carry people to Mars," Prof Dickey said.

Despite the big money contract on offer, UTAS has a modest arrangement with SpaceX.

"It more than covers our costs," Prof Dickey said.

"If we could provide this service to them on a regular basis ... I would like that to become a significant fraction of our budget."

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