SYDNEY, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Australia will establish a national space agency as part of long-term plan to develop the country's domestic space industry, a government minister said on Monday.
Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham made the announcement at the International Astronautical Congress, a five-day event being held in the Australian city of Adelaide.
"This agency will be the anchor for our domestic coordination and the front door for our international engagement with so many of you across the world's space industries," Birmingham said.
He did not say where the agency would be located.
The global space industry sector has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.52 percent from 1998 to 2015, the government said last month.
"Globally, revenue from space-related activities in 2015 was about US$323 billion," it said.
The five-day Congress is expected to draw more than 4,000 space professionals, including astronauts, engineers, scientists and innovators, from all over the world, according to the congress website.