Governance

Overview

Australia’s capacity share in the NovaSAR-1 satellite mission is operated by CSIRO as a National Facility for the benefit of Australian research and industry. The NovaSAR-1 National Facility (NNF) is operated in line with other National Facilities run by CSIRO under a formal governance structure.

The NNF is managed by staff within the CSIRO Centre for Earth Observation (CCEO) within the CSIRO Space & Astronomy division.  The governance model for the NNF follows that of the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), which is also managed by CSIRO Space & Astronomy.

Like the ATNF, the NNF governance structure consists of an independent, cross-sector Steering Committee who shape the scientific direction and strategy of the facility and a Time Assignment Committee, which reviews research proposals and provides guidance on time allocation on the satellite. A Users Committee may also be appointed after the first 12 months of operations at the discretion of the Steering Committee. For the ATNF this has proven a useful mechanism to collect feedback on any problems or operational changes required.

The Director of the NNF is the Director of CSIRO Space & Astronomy.

NovaSAR-1 Steering Committee – NSC

The NovaSAR-1 Steering Committee (NSC) is a cross-sector independent committee. The purpose of the NSC is to shape NNF policy and assist the Board to fulfil its governance responsibilities by providing high-level advice on the ongoing delivery of SAR Earth Observation capabilities for the nation. The NSC will meet at least once per year to advise the Director of the NNF on the broad directions of NNF scientific activities and longer-term strategies for the development of the NNF.

NovaSAR-1 Time Assignment Committee – TAC

The NovaSAR-1 Time Assignment Committee (TAC)  is appointed to assess proposals for NovaSAR-1 imagery acquisitions. Applications for membership are reviewed and actioned by the CCEO as they arise. The membership basis of the TAC is annually reviewed and endorsed by the NSC.

NovaSAR-1 Users Committee – NUC

The need for a NovaSAR-1 User Committee (NUC) will be evaluated by the NSC after the first 12 months of NNF operations and once a user basis for the NNF has been established. At this time a document detailing the role of the NUC will be produced.