‘Space tradies’ and ‘buck moon’ on the rise in Australia
Would you work as a ‘space tradie’? Building a qualification pathway has become a priority for the Space Industry Association. In the meantime, a special lunar event is lighting up Oz skies
READING LEVEL: GREEN
While Riley Weston isn’t able to fly a spaceship, spaceships aren’t able to fly without him.
He has become one of a new generation of “space tradies” and wants others with TAFE qualifications to join the “very cool” industry.
Mr Weston works as a field technician for Av-Comm Space and Defence. He specialises in satellite communications, which ensure teams can communicate with rockets or satellites in space.
“I know my job is safe,” he said.
“I might not be flying the plane or the satellite or spaceship, but that spaceship can’t fly without me,” he said.
Mr Weston had an interest in flying, defence, and mechanics, however he couldn’t pursue a pilot career due to colour blindness*.
The 20-year-old worked in a few different jobs after finishing Year 12 before he came across a job ad for a “Space Tradie”.
He said the job title was eye-catching and the company, Av-Comm, helped him pull together different qualifications.
Mr Weston has a certificate in telecommunication* technology, which is usually a qualification for Telstra technicians working on internet systems.
Along with other licenses and qualifications, he has built the knowledge to work in the space field. He said he hoped the career path would become smoother for future space tradies.
“At the moment it’s really hard to just be in the know,” he said.
Other people he works with started out as riggers*, mechanical fitters* and boiler makers* but got into the space trade through connections and years of experience in related industries.
Mr Weston said he enjoyed the industry because it was “very cool” and a new niche*.
He said he hoped to see growth in the Australian space industry so the country did not need to rely on others to build and deploy satellites.
Building a clear qualification pathway has become a priority for the Space Industry Association of Australia.
Chief executive Dan Lloyd said Australia needed to develop these specialisations but currently students had to “stitch together a host of different qualifications and create their own training programs”.
He said a similar thing had happened with cyber security.
“Everyone thought this mysterious thing might be important, but it was the IT guys’ job,” Mr Lloyd said.
Now, there are clear university and TAFE pathways and young people have become supported to navigate cyber and IT careers.
“We need to get space to where cyber is now,” he said.
In order to connect space companies with university and TAFE students, satellite communication company Viasat has launched a challenge for students to solve future problems, in collaboration with industry leaders.
Students have been encouraged to think about how space technology could address real-world problems. The winning student could earn $20,000 in prize money.
Viasat commercial regional vice president Carlin Charteris said the Australian sector had potential.
“Realising this potential requires a strong and diverse talent pipeline*,” he said.
“As space becomes increasingly integrated into services … we need to equip the next generation with the skills to thrive in this rapidly evolving industry.”
Swinburne University lecturer and astrophysicist* Sara Webb said students were keen to solve the problems of the future.
However, connections to key industry partners were a key part of encouraging jobs in space.
When Rishika Nair was at university she said she found it difficult to know how to get into the space industry.
She knew she was interested in physics, but while at university she realised there was still a big gender gap* in the field.
As part of the Space Industry Association of Australia’s mentorship program, she said hearing about other’s careers meant she was able to see herself in the sector.
“Just writing out my plan helped create a vision of what I wanted to do.”
She now works for the association as well as a telescope operator at Siding Spring Observatory in regional New South Wales where she runs equipment for astronomers on overnight shifts.
BUCK MOON RISES
Space enthusiasts didn’t need their telescopes to see the magnificent buck moon as it rose over Australian skies on Thursday evening.
The July full moon was bright enough to outshine two meteor showers despite it being further from Earth than usual, reaching the second highest in the sky of any full moon this year.
Sydney Institute for Astronomy postdoctoral researcher and science communicator Dr Laura Driessen said the best times to view the phenomenon was at sunset, sunrise or just after midnight. She said the moon reached its fullest when it was furthest from Earth.
“So the moon’s orbit around the earth isn’t exactly a circle. It’s more like a little bit of an oval (and) when it’s furthest from Earth that’s called the apogee,” she said.
“So it’s a full moon where (it is) pretty far away from Earth”.
The title of “buck moon” was penned in America, where it appears at the time of year when young male deer begin growing their antlers.
Moongazers who missed Thursday’s buck moon won’t have to wait long for the next lunar show, with a sturgeon moon due to peak in late August.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- colour blindness: a condition where people can’t see certain colours in the same way other people do, often those colours involving red and green hues
- telecommunication: the transmission of information and signals over long distances
- riggers: workers who set up and operate lifting equipment to move heavy loads
- mechanical fitters: a skilled tradie who assembles, installs and repairs industrial machinery and metal equipment
- boiler makers: a skilled metal tradies who cuts, shapes and welds steel to build and repair heavy structures, tanks and pressure vessels
- niche: a specialised segment of the market
- pipeline: people who are skilled to take on the job
- astrophysicist: a scientist who goes by the laws of physics and chemistry to study how the universe works
- gender gap: a difference or inequality between men and women
EXTRA READING
Astonishing find in the Milky Way
NASA reveals plan for moon base
Where to see rare ‘blood moon’
QUICK QUIZ
1. In what way do spaceships rely on ‘space tradies’?
2. What is a common barrier to entry into the space trade?
3. What challenge has Viasat launched to encourage participation in the space industry?
4. Why is the July full moon called a ‘buck moon’?
5. When is the next full moon event set to occur?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Space tradie!
Be inspired by a space tradie! Create a new action hero: Space Tradie. Use this character in a storyboard or script for a short film or video. Your purpose is to entertain but also encourage young people to think about trades that can lead to space related projects.
Time: Spend at least 20 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
Why do so many space related careers rely on studying physics? Write a list.
Time: Spend at least 20 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science
VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.