Nat Shearer for Mission: SPACE

Nat Shearer is simply a abstraction systems technologist astatine nan Australian Space Agency. 

“At precocious school, I was an Air Force Cadet,” says Nat.

“I was very lucky. I learned really to alert erstwhile I was successful nan Cadets, truthful I sewage my pilot’s licence. 

“I deliberation that was nan first measurement towards space.”

But Nat credits his liking successful becoming an technologist to nan clip he spent building and racing cars pinch his Dad.

Caption: From nan streets to nan skies, engineering tin return you anyplace – conscionable inquire Nat! 
Credit: Supplied Nat Shearer

A ray bulb moment

Nat studied aerospace engineering and laser physics astatine university.

“In uni, I came crossed a ngo wherever they sent retired 2 satellites pinch a laser betwixt them to measurement nan region betwixt nan satellites really precisely,” he says. 

“As nan gravitational section fluctuated, nan satellites would move, and truthful this gave america our champion measurement of Earth’s gravitational field. 

“That was that ray bulb infinitesimal wherever I’m like, oh, abstraction is nan point that I’ve ever been wanting to activity towards.

After university, Nat worked successful defence astatine Saab, connected maritime combat guidance systems for nan Royal Australian Navy, underwater mechanical engineering and moreover information systems astatine prisons and buildings, including nan Sydney Opera House. 

From there, his attraction shifted skyward.

Caption: Nat and abstraction agency regulators successful Bowen supporting nan first Gilmour motorboat attempt.
Credit: Supplied Nat Shearer

The existent landscape

It is simply a dream travel existent for Nat to yet beryllium moving successful nan abstraction industry.

“Last night, celebrated astronaut Chris Hadfield was successful town,” he says.

“He was talking astir really our existent knowledge is only astir 5% of really nan beingness works.

“Imagine if we knew 10% of what nan beingness was made up of.”

Factoids for illustration this really scratch nan itch for funny minds.

“I activity successful nan civilian abstraction monitoring squad astatine nan Agency,” says Nat.

“We’re exploring what Australia’s work is for situational awareness, for illustration looking astatine satellites and what’s happening successful abstraction truthful that we tin beryllium a safe and responsible abstraction user.”

That intends doing nan maths to way countless objects flying done nan skies supra us.

Caption: The hazy wide of satellites, abstraction junk and debris presently orbiting Earth – what mightiness this look for illustration successful 50 years?
Credit: Supplied Nat Shearer

“Even though abstraction is big, location is still nan consequence of satellites hitting each other,” says Nat.

“You’ve sewage to understand wherever they are, what they’re doing. Maybe satellites request to manoeuvre truthful that they’re not astatine consequence of hitting each other.

“We way nan satellites utilizing crushed stations – radars that nonstop signals retired and bounce off, or telescopes that spot their reflections.”

Once Nat and his colleagues person a dataset, they cipher nan velocity and guidance of nan abstraction objects.

From there, they tin moreover effort to divert nan trajectories by utilizing onboard pitchy propulsion systems to subtly nudge them disconnected course. 

To infinity and beyond

“It’s an perfectly astonishing clip to beryllium progressive successful abstraction now and successful nan future,” says Nat.

“One of nan things I’m astir excited for is on-orbit manufacturing. 

“There’s worldly that we conscionable can’t make connected Earth but we tin make successful abstraction because nan environments are different.

“In nan agelong term, I’m ace excited to spot what our knowing of gravity evolves into.”

For instance, LIGO is an observatory that uses lasers to measurement infinitesimal changes successful gravitational waves – subject that will revolutionise nan quickly evolving abstraction ecosystem.

Caption: Space junk that collapsed into a NSW workplace successful 2019 is now connected show astatine nan Australian Space Discovery Centre
Credit: Supplied Nat Shearer

Advice for burgeoning astronomers

Nat’s proposal for nan adjacent procreation of astronomers is that maturation is seldom linear. 

“You tin study from truthful galore different aspects of your life that I deliberation it’s important to immerse yourself successful immoderate activity it is and clasp what you’re progressive with,” says Nat.

“I did nan clip successful maritime, I did nan clip astatine civilian security, I did nan clip successful underwater, and each of those were really fulfilling jobs wherever I learnt a lot.

“Even though it wasn’t nan abstraction domain, I still learned truthful overmuch that is applicable to conscionable being an effective technologist and being an effective researcher. 

“It’s important to retrieve that conscionable because it isn’t abstraction doesn’t mean it isn’t absorbing and doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable.”

Nat is progressive successful nan Mission: SPACE programme delivered by Scitech and powered by nan Australian Space Agency. You tin registry for this nationwide virtual excursion here.