The federal government’s $1.4 billion precision satellite project has moved into its next phase with British satellite giant Inmarsat securing a $252 million contract to continue services and launch a second major payload.
It is a step toward the ambitious the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network (SouthPAN) project hitting a 2028 target for certification for safety critical aviation operations.
A joint initiative between Australia and New Zealand, SouthPAN aims to increase in satellite positioning precision on land and in surrounding maritime zones, from the current 5 to 10 metres down to 10 centimetres, helping precision navigation and critical safety systems.
It does this by augmenting existing global navigation satellite systems GPS and Galileo, but still requires significant investment to provide the broadcast system for free to end users.
US giant Lockheed Martin holds the main $1.18 billion contract for SouthPAN, which it secured in 2022. It came after a controversial procurement that triggered complaints from a rival and relied on questionable modelling to support the mammoth public investment.
Inmarsat won its first major SouthPAN contract in 2023 to deliver a satellite payload at a cost of $187 million.
A second contract for $252 million was announced by the Albanese government on Wednesday for the continuation of services from satellites as well as a new payload to be carried on one of Inmarsat’s I-8 constellation of satellites.
“This new agreement ensures we will have a robust, reliable satellite service working with our network of ground infrastructure to provide accurate precise positioning across the country and our maritime zones,” Minister for Northern Australia Madeleine King said.
The government says SouthPAN will be certified as a safety-of-life service for aviation by 2028, which would allow it to be used in operations where life could be at risk, such as medivac flights, and mark its full operational capability.
But the government is expecting far more benefits from the capability, which it is investing at least $1.4 billion into over 19 years.
The precision positioning and navigation service could assist transport, agriculture, construction and mining sectors by enabling applications like precision crop spraying, livestock management and heavy vehicle safety checks.
When the Lockheed Martin contract was announced, the government touted an expected $6 billion in benefits form SouthPAN to the Australian economy over 30 years, based on procured modelling by consultancy EY.
The 2024 audit that faulted the procurement also questioned this modelling, finding it relies on limited data, is not representative of the expected end users and “did not identify any assessment of the costs that may offset the benefits, such as negative impacts to service reliability”.
Lockheed Martin reportedly completed a critical design review for SouthPAN last month, allowing it move into testing. Some early services have been available since 2022.
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