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Editor's note
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On November 27 1967, Australia launched its first satellite – WRESAT – into orbit from Woomera, South Australia. It gave us entry into the exclusive “space club” of countries that had orbited a national satellite, and was the culmination of a decade in which Australia was seen as a significant player in the space arena.
Space historian Kerrie Dougherty argues that instead of our Federal governments then backing and building our space presence, what followed was a cyclical process that has – at least in the civil sector – hindered Australia’s ability to maintain its original level of capability, or redevelop it over recent decades.
Today, Australia is one of only two OECD nations not to have a space agency.
Our series Australia in space explores the strengths and weaknesses, along with the past, present and the future of Australia’s space presence and activities.
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Sarah Keenihan
Section Editor, Science and Technology
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Top story
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Australia worked closely with the UK, Europe and USA in developing space capability in the 1950s and 1960s.
from www.shutterstock.com
Kerrie Dougherty, UNSW
Australia was a significant global space player during the 1950s and 1960s. Now we're one of only two OECD countries not to have a space agency. What happened?
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Science + Technology
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Bruce Dawson, University of Adelaide
Scientists say they now know that high energy cosmic ray particles that bombard Earth are coming from outside our galaxy. But the actual source still remains a mystery.
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Marc Emyr Huw Jones, University of Adelaide; A Kristopher Lappin, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; Sean Wilcox, University of California, Riverside
The South American horned frogs are ambush predators and use their powerful jaws to prey on large animals.
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Politics + Society
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Jane Johnston, The University of Queensland
Despite arguments that it is too loose, ambiguous and easy to hide behind, the 'public interest' is an integral part of the discourse, law, regulation and governance of modern democracies.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
It's a rare example of direct democracy - albeit non-compulsory and conducted by mail.
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Simon Tormey, University of Sydney
We’re not sure if the cure, the populist outsider, will work and make life better. but we are willing to experiment as the old certainties of representative politics wither.
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Arts + Culture
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Paul Salmond, La Trobe University
American cinema mines Greek myth most strongly at times of profound social anxiety. In the age of Trump, we are already seeing key political battlegrounds framed as underworld quests in film.
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David Tuffley, Griffith University
US and Japanese tech companies are building fighting megabots to kicktstart what they envisage as a sporting franchise on the scale of Formula 1.
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Cities
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Jessica Gerrard, University of Melbourne
Big Issue sellers get social contact and dignity out of their work, but it's not a secure pathway out of poverty and homelessness. Social enterprises enable small steps; governments can do much more.
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Business + Economy
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Richard Holden, UNSW
The market welcomed statements from the US Federal Reserve and the RBA, but there isn't much to be happy about.
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Kim Houghton, University of Canberra
Innovation is focused on regional centres that have research and development institutions, but more than 150 regional areas have potential to match this innovation, research finds.
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Health + Medicine
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Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute
Australia was ranked top of the world in terms of the efficiency of our health care system and health outcomes, but only seventh in terms of equity.
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Allen Cheng, Monash University
The hallmark of a Buruli ulcer is a sore, usually on the legs or arms, which slowly enlarges over weeks to months.
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Denton Callander, UNSW
NSW has changed its laws imposing criminal penalties on someone with an STI who doesn't take "reasonable precautions" to not infect their sexual partner.
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David Griffin, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Why is it the flu virus is so deadly compared to the common cold virus?
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Ruth Walker, University of Waikato; Liezl van Zyl, University of Waikato
Surrogacy is fraught with uncertainties. Proposed regulation, inspired by the way the caring professions are regulated, would protect the surrogate and provide certainty about legal parentage.
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Environment + Energy
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Meg Argyriou, ClimateWorks Australia
What do China, India, South Africa and Mexico have in common? They all reduced the carbon intensity of their economies without sacrificing economic growth. Other developing nations can do the same.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
AGL chief economist Tim Nelson says preserving the Liddell power station may not be the best solution.
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Luke S. O'Loughlin, Australian National University; Damian Michael, Australian National University; David Lindenmayer, Australian National University; Thea O'Loughlin, Charles Sturt University
Australia's iconic stock routes are now public land, used for everything from conservation to recreation. A government review may change that.
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Columnists
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Featured jobs
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University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
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Deakin University — Newtown, Victoria
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La Trobe University — Bundoora, Victoria
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Featured events
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UNSW Sydney CBD, 1 O'Connell Street, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia — Australia New Zealand School of Government
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The Clemenger Auditorium, National Gallery of Victoria, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Edith Cowan University
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The Clemenger Auditorium, National Gallery of Victoria, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — RMIT University
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115 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Melbourne, Victoria, 3065, Australia — Australian Catholic University
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