From CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation: “CSIRO’s future science to tackle energy storage; carbon locking; immune resilience and the bioeconomy”

From CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

7 April 2022

Ms Jenna Daroczy
Manager, Media and Corporate Communication
+61 2 6218 3762

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, will invest $50 million over the next five years in four new programs to drive critical breakthroughs in tough national challenges.

Unlocking the secret to efficient and safe energy storage with the Revolutionary Energy Storage Systems Future Science Platform © Nick Pitsas.

Providing high-throughput bioengineering capability, the CSIRO BioFoundry finds solutions to rapidly innovate the development of bio-based products.

Disruptive change is crucial to meeting future energy needs safely, efficiently and sustainably – Dr Adam Best. © Nick Pitsas.

The CSIRO BioFoundry, enabled by high-throughput automation and data handling, can prototype new biotechnologies or answer complex biological questions.

With a suite of specialist equipment to meet the needs of bioengineering projects, the CSIRO BioFoundry provides capability to industry and the research community.

The programs are part of CSIRO’s $200 million portfolio of Future Science Platforms (FSPs), programs that push the boundaries of existing research through collaboration with universities and industry.

The Revolutionary Energy Storage Systems FSP will reimagine Australia’s electricity grid from one designed to support fossil fuels to instead incorporate more sources of renewable power.

The Permanent Carbon Locking FSP will harness biology, chemistry and engineering to drive innovation in carbon capture and carbon storage science.

The Immune Resilience FSP will build on the accelerated understanding of human and animal immune systems gained from COVID-19 to develop technologies that prevent, protect, and respond to emerging health threats.

The Advanced Engineering Biology FSP will deliver new tools to develop fast-tracked solutions for some of the most pressing challenges of this century – from food security to health and wellbeing and carbon-neutral industries.

CSIRO’s Chief Scientist Professor Bronwyn Fox said the new FSPs will bring together industry and science, including early career researchers, to invent the cutting-edge science that will shape our future.

“CSIRO’s Future Science Platforms are a big part of our strategy to stay at the forefront of discovery,” Prof Fox said.

“They are a critical part of the way we do science – they are our investment in cutting-edge, transformative research where we push the boundaries of science and lean into the seemingly impossible.

“The foundational research that these four new Future Science Platforms will undertake will pave the way for innovations and catalyse new industries that will help us to better manage our health, food security, natural resources and environment in the decades to come.”

Dr Adam Best, Interim Director of the Revolutionary Energy Storage Systems FSP, said disruptive change is crucial to meeting future energy needs safely, efficiently and sustainably.

“Unlocking the secret to efficient and safe energy storage could see us charge electric vehicles as easily as we now fill our petrol tanks, or keep portable our devices charged for many days without the need for a top up,” Dr Best said.

“On a larger scale, it could even be mimicking pumped hydro through new technology and making it more responsive to the needs of the grid.”

Dr Andrew Lenton, Director of the Permanent Carbon Locking FSP, said research would focus on accelerated atmospheric carbon removal and permanent carbon storage, and integrating these in novel ways.

“If we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, breakthroughs and innovation in permanent carbon removal from the atmosphere is needed,” Dr Lenton said.

“The future science and capability developed in this FSP have the potential to underpin new industries and reshape existing industries for Australia and beyond, with CSIRO’s science at the centre.”

Dr Tim Doran, Interim Director of the Immune Resilience FSP, said new and emerging science could enable solutions that harness immune responses to better tackle diseases.

“The rapid acceleration in immune-based technologies in recent years has opened up so many biotech opportunities, and we want to build on that momentum,” Dr Doran said.

“This innovative research will further unravel the complex nature of immune systems and develop new strategies to enhance immune resilience in both humans and animals.” 

Dr Colin Scott, Interim Director of the Advanced Engineering Biology FSP, said developing powerful new tools for biological design and prototyping will supercharge the delivery of impactful new goods and services.

“This research will help deliver the 50,000 jobs and $30 billion a year that have been identified in the CSIRO Synthetic Biology Roadmap,” Dr Scott said.

“This is a really exciting time for the bioeconomy in Australia. We are seeing significant growth in start-ups and in the wider innovation ecosystem. Increased investment in this research area will help ensure that Australia is a world leader in engineering biology.”

CSIRO’s $200 million portfolio of Future Science Platforms includes 20 programs that underpin innovation and have the potential to help reinvent and create new industries for Australia. More here: https://www.csiro.au/en/about/strategy/Future-Science-Platforms

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, is Australia’s national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO maintains more than 50 sites across Australia and in France, Chile and the United States, employing about 5,500 people.

Federally funded scientific research began in Australia 104 years ago. The Advisory Council of Science and Industry was established in 1916 but was hampered by insufficient available finance. In 1926 the research effort was reinvigorated by establishment of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which strengthened national science leadership and increased research funding. CSIR grew rapidly and achieved significant early successes. In 1949 further legislated changes included renaming the organisation as CSIRO.

Notable developments by CSIRO have included the invention of atomic absorption spectroscopy; essential components of Wi-Fi technology; development of the first commercially successful polymer banknote; the invention of the insect repellent in Aerogard and the introduction of a series of biological controls into Australia, such as the introduction of myxomatosis and rabbit calicivirus for the control of rabbit populations.

Research and focus areas

Research Business Units

As at 2019, CSIRO’s research areas are identified as “Impact science” and organised into the following Business Units:

Agriculture and Food
Health and Biosecurity
Data 61
Energy
Land and Water
Manufacturing
Mineral Resources
Oceans and Atmosphere

National Facilities
CSIRO manages national research facilities and scientific infrastructure on behalf of the nation to assist with the delivery of research. The national facilities and specialized laboratories are available to both international and Australian users from industry and research. As at 2019, the following National Facilities are listed:

Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
Australia Telescope National Facility – radio telescopes included in the Facility include the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Parkes Observatory, Mopra Observatory and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

CSIRO Australia Compact Array (AU), six radio telescopes at the Paul Wild Observatory, is an array of six 22-m antennas located about twenty five kilometres (16 mi) west of the town of Narrabri in Australia.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU) Parkes Observatory, [ Murriyang, the traditional Indigenous name] , located 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, 414.80m above sea level.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU) Mopra radio telescope.

Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

NASA Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, AU, Deep Space Network. Credit: NASA.

CSIRO Canberra campus.

ESA DSA 1, hosts a 35-metre deep-space antenna with transmission and reception in both S- and X-band and is located 140 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia, near the town of New Norcia.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)”>CSIRO R/V Investigator.

UK Space NovaSAR-1 satellite (UK) synthetic aperture radar satellite.

CSIRO Pawsey Supercomputing Centre AU)

Magnus Cray XC40 supercomputer at Pawsey Supercomputer Centre Perth Australia.

Galaxy Cray XC30 Series Supercomputer at at Pawsey Supercomputer Centre Perth Australia.

Pausey Supercomputer CSIRO Zeus SGI Linux cluster.

Others not shown

SKA

SKA- Square Kilometer Array.

SKA Square Kilometre Array low frequency at Murchison Widefield Array, Boolardy station in outback Western Australia on the traditional lands of the Wajarri peoples.

EDGES telescope in a radio quiet zone at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia, on the traditional lands of the Wajarri peoples.

From CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation: “Radio footprints of galactic interactions discovered in the Shapely Supercluster”

From CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

24 January 2022

Rachel Rayner

Interaction between clusters and groups of galaxies within a supercluster have been observed through the detection of radio waves by telescopes all over the world.

ESA Planck Shapley Supercluster.

A group of international radio astronomers led by INAF Italian National Institute for Astrophysics [Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica](IT), and including Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) Macquarie University (AU), have conducted a multi-frequency and multi-band study of the Shapley Supercluster, the largest constellation of galaxies in the local Universe. The astronomers discovered radio emission which was acting as a “bridge” between a cluster of galaxies and a group of galaxies.

The observations, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, were carried out with the Australian ASKAP radio telescope, the South African MeerKAT radio telescope, and the Indian Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Optical data collected with ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) and X-ray data from ESA’s XMM-Newton space telescope completed the study.

SKA ASKAP Pathfinder Radio Telescope.

SKA SARAO Meerkat telescope , 90 km outside the small Northern Cape town of Carnarvon, SA.

Upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, an array of thirty telecopes, located near Pune in India.

ESO VLT Survey Telescope [VST].

European Space Agency [Agencia Espacial Europea][Agence spatiale européenne][Europäische Weltraumorganisation](EU) XMM Newton X-ray Telescope.

“The emission was triggered by the collision of these separate groupings of galaxies,” said co-author Professor Andrew Hopkins from AAO Macquarie. “Despite its difficulty to detect, this unique emission will now allow astronomers to better study the regions between clusters of galaxies.”

Tiziana Venturi, Director of the INAF’s Radio Astronomy Institute and lead author of the article, explains: “This exceptional emission finally allows us to study the regions between clusters of galaxies, the ideal environments to look for traces of interaction between these structures. In the study, we also report the discovery of another couple of objects – a very peculiar head-tail radio galaxy and a ram-pressure stripped spiral galaxy, whose origin is traced back to the same collision phenomenon that generated the emission on the megaparsec scale”. The emission extends on the scale of millions of light-years, and it takes the form of an arc and a filament.

“Ram pressure stripping can have a profound impact on the evolution of galaxies, removing the cooler gas that helps with star formation,” said Professor Hopkins. “This case shows that ram pressure stripping can involve both warm gas and radio-emitting plasma, and highlights the role of cluster-cluster interaction in triggering it,” said Professor Hopkins.

“The head-tail radio galaxy, whose tail is broken and culminates in a misaligned bar, is now being observed in a number of clusters. Early analysis of this galaxy is showing some exciting results, which deserve further investigation.”

The Shapley Supercluster covers a large area of the southern hemisphere sky 600 million light-years from the Milky Way in the Centaurus constellation. As a result, the region hosts over 1000 clusters and groups of galaxies, which allows an in-depth study of the role of the environment on the evolution of galaxies and on the thermal (gas) and non-thermal (radio emission and magnetic fields) components that make up the clusters of galaxies.

This particular region first captured the interest of radio astronomers in the 1990s. However, before the development of ASKAP and MeerKAT (the two precursors of the SKA project, respectively managed by the Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, and by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory [SARAO]), it has basically been impossible to study it, in this fashion due to the lack of radio interferometers in the southern hemisphere with the necessary sensitivity.

Venturi adds “Now, ASKAP and MeerKAT have both unlocked greater access to the Shapley Concentration with the higher resolution and sensitivity to study this area in more depth. The synergy between the very high-quality radio data and other X-ray and optical data allowed a very detailed study.”

The radio data represent the state of the art of precursors of the SKA project and provide only a first taste of the wealth of information and discoveries that will come with the SKA radio telescopes (the construction will start in 2022 in Western Australia and South Africa), as well as the complexity of the data analysis that radio astronomers will have to face soon.

The study aims to highlight the observational effects of the so-called minor merger phenomena. Until now, it was not clear whether scale relations between various clusters and groups would also apply to these phenomena, less striking but much more common in the Universe.

“We were able to show through this study that these phenomena can be rather remarkable and that they leave detectable traces on single galaxies, on clusters and groups of galaxies, and even the regions between them,” said Professor Hopkins.

The observations captured in this research also confirm the importance of technologies like SKA precursors on the understanding of the weak population of radio sources in clusters, both associated with individual galaxies and associated with the intra-cluster and inter-cluster medium.

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, is Australia’s national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO maintains more than 50 sites across Australia and in France, Chile and the United States, employing about 5,500 people.

Federally funded scientific research began in Australia 104 years ago. The Advisory Council of Science and Industry was established in 1916 but was hampered by insufficient available finance. In 1926 the research effort was reinvigorated by establishment of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which strengthened national science leadership and increased research funding. CSIR grew rapidly and achieved significant early successes. In 1949 further legislated changes included renaming the organisation as CSIRO.

Notable developments by CSIRO have included the invention of atomic absorption spectroscopy; essential components of Wi-Fi technology; development of the first commercially successful polymer banknote; the invention of the insect repellent in Aerogard and the introduction of a series of biological controls into Australia, such as the introduction of myxomatosis and rabbit calicivirus for the control of rabbit populations.

Research and focus areas

Research Business Units

As at 2019, CSIRO’s research areas are identified as “Impact science” and organised into the following Business Units:

Agriculture and Food
Health and Biosecurity
Data 61
Energy
Land and Water
Manufacturing
Mineral Resources
Oceans and Atmosphere

National Facilities
CSIRO manages national research facilities and scientific infrastructure on behalf of the nation to assist with the delivery of research. The national facilities and specialized laboratories are available to both international and Australian users from industry and research. As at 2019, the following National Facilities are listed:

Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
Australia Telescope National Facility – radio telescopes included in the Facility include the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Parkes Observatory, Mopra Observatory and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

CSIRO Australia Compact Array (AU), six radio telescopes at the Paul Wild Observatory, is an array of six 22-m antennas located about twenty five kilometres (16 mi) west of the town of Narrabri in Australia.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU) Parkes Observatory, [ Murriyang, the traditional Indigenous name] , located 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, 414.80m above sea level.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU) Mopra radio telescope.

Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

NASA Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, AU, Deep Space Network. Credit: NASA.

CSIRO Canberra campus.

ESA DSA 1, hosts a 35-metre deep-space antenna with transmission and reception in both S- and X-band and is located 140 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia, near the town of New Norcia.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)”>CSIRO R/V Investigator.

UK Space NovaSAR-1 satellite (UK) synthetic aperture radar satellite.

CSIRO Pawsey Supercomputing Centre AU)

Magnus Cray XC40 supercomputer at Pawsey Supercomputer Centre Perth Australia.

Galaxy Cray XC30 Series Supercomputer at at Pawsey Supercomputer Centre Perth Australia.

Pausey Supercomputer CSIRO Zeus SGI Linux cluster.

Others not shown

SKA

SKA- Square Kilometer Array.

SKA Square Kilometre Array low frequency at Murchison Widefield Array, Boolardy station in outback Western Australia on the traditional lands of the Wajarri peoples.

EDGES telescope in a radio quiet zone at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia, on the traditional lands of the Wajarri peoples.

From CSIROscope (AU) at CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation : “Who’s your friend when things get rough? It’s sentinels in the Southern Ocean”

From CSIROscope (AU)

at

CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

3 May, 2021
Matt Marrison

Join the team on RV Investigator as they maintain ocean sentinels, helping them figure out our surrounding ocean and climate.

Operations 24-7: voyage Chief Scientist, Dr Elizabeth Shadwick (right), works with the deck crew to deploy a mooring. These sentinels help them figure out our surrounding ocean and climate. Image: Max McGuire.

Come and science with me. And I will take you on a trip. Far across the sea.

The vast oceans surrounding Australia are wild, rich in resources, and largely unexplored. In places, they transfer heat and gases like carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the deep sea. In other places, they return nutrients back to the surface to sustain ocean life and ecosystems.

To protect and manage our oceans, we need to understand them and their interactions with the atmosphere. These interactions can range in scale from day-night cycles to larger ocean-wide oscillations over decades. And, with impacts from climate change increasing, understanding these interactions has never been more important than it is now.

Monitoring changes to the physics, chemistry and biology of the ocean requires sustained collection of data over long time periods.

So, each year, our Research Vessel (RV) Investigator leaves port on important missions for the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS).

Join us as we follow their journey south to maintain massive ocean infrastructure vital for monitoring our surrounding ocean and climate.

Automated ocean sentinels

Spread offshore around our coastline are arrays of giant automated moorings that maintain watch over our oceans.

These are the IMOS deep-water mooring arrays. They form part of the national observing system that makes up IMOS, some of which has been in operation since the 1940s.

During this past April, a team of 21 researchers and 20 crew on-board RV Investigator set sail from Hobart to maintain one of these deep-water arrays.

Wild at any time, those on-board travelled to a particularly energetic area of the Southern Ocean near 47˚south. Their destination was the Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) site – a location where ocean-atmosphere interactions are at their extreme.

At the SOTS site, an interaction between warm and cold bodies of water results in heat being carried far into the deep ocean. It’s a process that also supplies oxygen for deep ocean ecosystems.

As the team departed Hobart, the skies grew dark, the sea grew rough.

And the ship sailed on and on… and on and on and on and on.

In with the new: the team moves the SOFS-10 surface float into position. Image: Ben Arthur.

Steadfastly standing watch

If the weather is kind, it’s two days sailing to reach the SOTS site. At this location are two four-kilometre tall moorings anchored to the ocean floor.

These are massive automated scientific sentinels bristling with sensors and instrumentation. They collect an impressive range of marine data every hour, of every day of the year, for the entire time they stand in place.

Usually, this is about 12 months. But COVID-19 delayed the preceding year’s recovery, meaning nearly 16 months passed before the team on board could collect the moorings and their important data.

The two moorings at this site each collect different data. Meet the SOFS and SAZ moorings:

SOFS: air-sea flux surface mooring with subsurface biogeochemical sensors. This mooring collects a wide range of ocean and weather data, and measures CO2 levels in the ocean.
SAZ: deep ocean sediment trap mooring. This mooring captures sediments sinking in the water column to study the transfer of carbon to the deep ocean.

During the voyage, the team on-board deploys new SOFS and SAZ moorings. After that, they recover the old ones along with the important data their instruments contain.

Each operation can take a full day or longer. As part of it, over four kilometres of wire and attached instruments are carefully deployed or brought back on-board RV Investigator.

This is when you don’t want things to get rough.

The Southern Ocean isn’t always your friend, and the operations can be highly challenging, even in the most benign conditions.

Out with the old: the team on board recovers the SOFS-9 surface float after a year in the Southern Ocean. Image: Max McGuire.

Bringing it home

With the old moorings safely recovered and stowed, and new ones in their place, the ship sets a course for home. This is when the process of downloading and analysing the data begins.

The SOTS mooring array is part of Australia’s contribution to the international OceanSITES global network of time series observatories. It is one of the few comprehensive Southern Ocean sites globally.

Deployments on this voyage continue the longest continuous collection of deep-ocean data in the Southern Ocean by any nation.

The data collected is significant.

The Southern Ocean (ocean south of 30°S) is responsible for about 40 per cent of the total global ocean uptake of human-induced CO2 emissions. And 75 per cent of the additional heat these emissions have trapped on Earth.

Data collected by these and other arrays around our coastline helps map ocean currents and monitor changes in key biological drivers of ocean ecosystems and fisheries. Government, industry and others who work and play in the vast oceans around the Australian continent use this information to inform their planning and decision making.

To our enduring ocean sentinels left to monitor these stormy seas, we say thanks. We’ll see you in 12 months.

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation , is Australia’s national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO maintains more than 50 sites across Australia and in France, Chile and the United States, employing about 5,500 people.

Federally funded scientific research began in Australia 104 years ago. The Advisory Council of Science and Industry was established in 1916 but was hampered by insufficient available finance. In 1926 the research effort was reinvigorated by establishment of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which strengthened national science leadership and increased research funding. CSIR grew rapidly and achieved significant early successes. In 1949 further legislated changes included renaming the organisation as CSIRO.

Notable developments by CSIRO have included the invention of atomic absorption spectroscopy; essential components of Wi-Fi technology; development of the first commercially successful polymer banknote; the invention of the insect repellent in Aerogard and the introduction of a series of biological controls into Australia, such as the introduction of myxomatosis and rabbit calicivirus for the control of rabbit populations.

Research and focus areas

Research Business Units

As at 2019, CSIRO’s research areas are identified as “Impact science” and organised into the following Business Units:

Agriculture and Food
Health and Biosecurity
Data 61
Energy
Land and Water
Manufacturing
Mineral Resources
Oceans and Atmosphere

National Facilities

CSIRO manages national research facilities and scientific infrastructure on behalf of the nation to assist with the delivery of research. The national facilities and specialized laboratories are available to both international and Australian users from industry and research. As at 2019, the following National Facilities are listed:

Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
Australia Telescope National Facility – radio telescopes included in the Facility include the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Parkes Observatory, Mopra Observatory and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

CSIRO Australia Compact Array (AU), six radio telescopes at the Paul Wild Observatory, is an array of six 22-m antennas located about twenty five kilometres (16 mi) west of the town of Narrabri in Australia.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU) Parkes Observatory, [ Murriyang, the traditional Indigenous name] , located 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, 414.80m above sea level.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU) Mopra radio telescope

Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

NASA Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, AU, Deep Space Network. Credit: NASA

.

CSIRO Canberra campus

ESA DSA 1, hosts a 35-metre deep-space antenna with transmission and reception in both S- and X-band and is located 140 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia, near the town of New Norcia

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)CSIRO R/V Investigator.

UK Space NovaSAR-1 satellite (UK) synthetic aperture radar satellite.

CSIRO Pawsey Supercomputing Centre AU)

Magnus Cray XC40 supercomputer at Pawsey Supercomputer Centre Perth Australia

Galaxy Cray XC30 Series Supercomputer at at Pawsey Supercomputer Centre Perth Australia

Pausey Supercomputer CSIRO Zeus SGI Linux cluster

Others not shown

SKA

SKA- Square Kilometer Array

SKA Square Kilometre Array low frequency at Murchison Widefield Array, Boolardy station in outback Western Australia on the traditional lands of the Wajarri peoples.

EDGES telescope in a radio quiet zone at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia, on the traditional lands of the Wajarri peoples.

.

From CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation : “Australia in Space-How our additive manufacturing technology helped with a recent satellite launch”

From CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Our additive manufacturing technology helped a recent satellite launch! See how we developed a small part to fix a big problem.

The CubeSat part made using two different additive manufacturing processes. The first was electron beam 3D printing for the light weight, super strong titanium base. And the second was cold spray for the thermally stable invar coating.

Right now, there are about 2600 operational satellites orbiting our planet. Most of these are in low Earth orbit (LEO) and a growing number are CubeSats (tiny satellites). CubeSats are about the size of one or two loaves of bread and can be used for a range of applications. One example is monitoring changes in the natural and built environment like floods, groundcover changes and urban development. Another is providing communications services including Internet of Things connectivity.

CubeSats are making space more accessible thanks to their smaller size and lower cost compared to traditional satellites. But there are a few challenges.

The harsh environment of space means these satellites are subject to extreme conditions and temperature variations. As the orbiting spacecraft moves in and out of sunlight and shadow, it experiences thermal cycling. That means it jumps from extreme cold to extreme heat, over and over again. Additionally, when CubeSats are in sunlight, thermal gradients across the satellite body are particularly pronounced due to the CubeSat’s small size. As a result, these temperature changes can affect the stability of the satellite structure. This makes keeping sensitive equipment, such as meticulously calibrated optics that must stay well aligned, very difficult.

Launching a satellite into space is a significant investment and can involve years of planning. So it’s important that satellites, and the equipment they carry, can comfortably withstand the environmental challenges of space. This lets them get on with the job they’ve been launched to do.

The good news is we’ve developed a great solution!

They go up so fast

Last month, Rocket Lab, launched the M2 mission from New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula as part of the “They Go Up So Fast” mission. This mission will help monitor maritime areas and demonstrate different sensors, communication systems and onboard processing platforms.

Developed by UNSW Canberra Space and supported by funding from the Royal Australian Air Force, M2 is arguably one of the world’s most complex CubeSat missions to date. This is because it involves some tricky formation flying. CubeSats are designed based on a modular standard unit of 10cm x 10cm x 10cm. The M2 mission consists of two connected six-unit CubeSats. Early in the mission they will undergo a controlled separation and fly in sequence to test a range of emerging technologies.

Our part in the mission

On-board the CubeSat are components built in our Lab22 and supported by our Space Technology Future Science Platform.

If you’re a regular reader of our blogs, you’ll know this is not the first time Lab22 has worked on parts destined for space. This time our team – Dr Darren Fraser and Andrew Urban – was called on to make an optical bench for a telescopic mount. This important component, which looks like a flat, square metal plate, about 8cm x 8cm, holds part of the CubeSat’s imaging optics payload. Essentially, it makes sure these structures remain stable under extreme conditions. This is important if the mission is to succeed and collect the required data.

Working with partners from DMTC, UNSW Canberra Space, La Trobe University (AU) and AW Bell, we explored the best methods and materials for the satellite components.

We sought out material compounds that were able to remain stable under thermal cycling. A titanium/invar hybrid part was designed and selected for additive manufacturing – titanium for its strength and lightness and invar for its thermal properties.

Our Lab22 team combined two additive manufacturing techniques to make the components – 3D printing and cold spray. This enabled them to fast track the production of the parts. But more importantly, the additive methods and hybrid alloys used allowed the team to produce parts that could withstand the extreme conditions of space. This, in turn, helped minimise the effect of thermal cycling on the performance of the satellite optics.

Inside the ARCAM 3D printer. This machine uses an electron beam to melt or fuse together metallic particles in a powder bed. It prints the initial titanium of the hybrid M2 CubeSat component. A layer of invar coats the part by using cold spray.

Here’s how it worked

For the first part of the process, Darren used the electron beam 3D printer which employs an electron beam to melt or fuse together neighbouring particles in a metal powder bed.

Andrew then used cold spray for the second step. Cold spray uses a supersonic gas jet to accelerate metal particles towards a surface, faster than the speed of sound. The cold spray robots deposited a coating of invar onto 3D printed titanium Just enough so that it didn’t impact the part’s weight too significantly, but did provide a stabilising layer. This made the part resistant to stresses and expansion in fluctuating temperatures. The deposited invar particles created a bond between the two materials.

Each of the two processes lends itself to different applications and alloys. Some alloys, for example, will change their properties when heated to melting point. In those cases, cold spray is a better option because it doesn’t rely on that level of heat.

The Final Frontier

To ensure the manufactured parts were up to the job, UNSW Canberra conducted extensive metrology (weights and measures) and vibration testing to mimic launch conditions.

Would these components survive the intense vibrations during launch? Would they withstand the extreme and fluctuating temperatures and environment of space? Was there a chance they might outgas in the vacuum of space? The researchers asked these questions as they designed, built and tested these important CubeSat parts.

And how did they go? Well, watch the launch and see for yourself. Fast-forward to 18 minutes in for take-off!

We are proud to have played a role in the M2 mission and to be supporting Australia’s sovereign capability to additively manufacture space components.

See the full article here .

five-ways-keep-your-child-safe-school-shootings

Please help promote STEM in your local schools.

Stem Education Coalition

CSIRO (AU)-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation , is Australia’s national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.

CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO maintains more than 50 sites across Australia and in France, Chile and the United States, employing about 5,500 people.

Federally funded scientific research began in Australia 104 years ago. The Advisory Council of Science and Industry was established in 1916 but was hampered by insufficient available finance. In 1926 the research effort was reinvigorated by establishment of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which strengthened national science leadership and increased research funding. CSIR grew rapidly and achieved significant early successes. In 1949 further legislated changes included renaming the organisation as CSIRO.

Notable developments by CSIRO have included the invention of atomic absorption spectroscopy; essential components of Wi-Fi technology; development of the first commercially successful polymer banknote; the invention of the insect repellent in Aerogard and the introduction of a series of biological controls into Australia, such as the introduction of myxomatosis and rabbit calicivirus for the control of rabbit populations.

Research and focus areas

Research Business Units

As at 2019, CSIRO’s research areas are identified as “Impact science” and organised into the following Business Units:

Agriculture and Food
Health and Biosecurity
Data 61
Energy
Land and Water
Manufacturing
Mineral Resources
Oceans and Atmosphere

National Facilities

CSIRO manages national research facilities and scientific infrastructure on behalf of the nation to assist with the delivery of research. The national facilities and specialized laboratories are available to both international and Australian users from industry and research. As at 2019, the following National Facilities are listed:

Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
Australia Telescope National Facility – radio telescopes included in the Facility include the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the Parkes Observatory, Mopra Observatory and the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.

CSIRO Australia Compact Array (AU), six radio telescopes at the Paul Wild Observatory, is an array of six 22-m antennas located about twenty five kilometres (16 mi) west of the town of Narrabri in Australia.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU) Parkes Observatory, [ Murriyang, the traditional Indigenous name] , located 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, 414.80m above sea level.

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU) Mopra radio telescope

Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

NASA Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, AU, Deep Space Network. Credit: NASA

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CSIRO Canberra campus

ESA DSA 1, hosts a 35-metre deep-space antenna with transmission and reception in both S- and X-band and is located 140 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia, near the town of New Norcia

CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU)”>CSIRO R/V Investigator.

UK Space NovaSAR-1 satellite (UK) synthetic aperture radar satellite.

CSIRO Pawsey Supercomputing Centre AU)

Magnus Cray XC40 supercomputer at Pawsey Supercomputer Centre Perth Australia

Galaxy Cray XC30 Series Supercomputer at at Pawsey Supercomputer Centre Perth Australia

Pausey Supercomputer CSIRO Zeus SGI Linux cluster

Others not shown

SKA

SKA- Square Kilometer Array

SKA Square Kilometre Array low frequency at Murchison Widefield Array, Boolardy station in outback Western Australia on the traditional lands of the Wajarri peoples.

EDGES telescope in a radio quiet zone at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia, on the traditional lands of the Wajarri peoples.