Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has signed a five-year agreement with US-based company SpaceX to support their future space missions.

Under the agreement CSIRO’s iconic Parkes radio telescope – Murriyang – as well as other telescopes owned and operated by the agency, will provide ground station downlink services to select SpaceX missions.

This and other similar commercial agreements tap into CSIRO’s expertise and proven track record.

The Parkes telescope has a long history providing spacecraft tracking services for NASA and other international space agencies.

CSIRO also manages the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex for NASA, and the New Norcia ground station for the European Space Agency.

Dr Douglas Bock, CSIRO’s Director of Space and Astronomy, said the agreement with SpaceX recognises CSIRO’s experience operating large, complex spacecraft tracking and radio astronomy infrastructure.

“Our Parkes radio telescope began supporting NASA space missions in 1962, when it tracked the first interplanetary space mission, Mariner 2, as it flew by the planet Venus,” Dr Bock said.

“The telescope, along with NASA’s Honeysuckle Creek tracking station, famously received the television signals from the Apollo 11 Moon landing watched by more than 600 million people around the world.

“Most recently, the telescope received data from Voyager 2 as it entered interstellar space in conjunction with the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.

“Providing ground station services for space missions complements the astronomy research conducted with our telescopes and helps to maintain their capabilities as world-class research instruments,” he said.

Homicide detectives continue to investigate the death of a 24-year-old man in Craigieburn on 15 February.

The investigation will examine the complete timeline of the man’s movements that afternoon, including interactions with the public.

It is believed the deceased was assaulted in two separate altercations involving different groups of people, prior to police locating him.

The first altercation is understood to have occurred in Hothlyn Drive about 2.15pm.

The second incident is believed to have occurred on Mitford Crescent around 2.30pm.

While being treated by ambulance crews the man became unresponsive and died at the scene.

Detectives are appealing for anyone who interacted with the man, witnessed the incidents, or with dashcam/CCTV to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via Crime Stoppers online.

A man has been shot by police following an incident in Norlane in recent days.

Officers received a report of a carjacking in Iona Street about 3.50pm last Friday February 17 where a man in his 70s was threatened with a firearm and pulled from his vehicle.

The offender drove off in the Holden Commodore and police were notified.

It’s alleged the stolen car was found in Warrawee Avenue about 4.25pm.

Officers approached and were confronted by a man with a firearm who was subsequently shot by police.

He has been taken to hospital in a stable condition.

Professional Standards Command have been notified and will be attending as is normal when a police shooting occurs.

Anyone who witnessed either incident or with CCTV, dashcam footage or further information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report via the Crime Stoppers website online.

Police were preparing a report for the Coroner following the death of a 61-year-old Sunshine West man at Altona beach last Saturday February 18.

It’s believed a group of divers were diving in the water near Bayview Street about 9am when the man became separated from the group.

Sadly, the man was located deceased in the water a short time later.

CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency has in recent days unveiled a $25 million upgrade to its Myall Vale site in NSW with new purpose-built facilities to support cutting-edge cotton research.

The upgrades include the newly-built Cotton Management Research Laboratory, which allows the precise pre-emptive monitoring of potential insect resistance and the measurement of crop nutritional status for improved management, as well as new cotton breeding areas, increased storage and processing areas.

CSIRO’s Executive Director, Future Industries, Kirsten Rose said the investment in the expanded facilities demonstrated CSIRO’s commitment to the cotton industry.

“Our cotton breeding work is world-class and our long-term commitment to the cotton industry which has been developed over half a century is now ensured into the future,” Ms Rose said.

“From humble beginnings 50 years ago, 100 per cent of cotton now grown in Australia is a product of CSIRO science.”

Leader of CSIRO’s Cotton Breeding Program, Warwick Stiller, said the new facilities further cement CSIRO as a world leader in cotton research.

“The work our researchers are doing at Myall Vale is globally recognised, from developing pest-resistant cotton to producing more sustainable varieties that require less water,” Dr Stiller said.

“Myall Vale is a unique site embedded with the local industry and community, and our partnerships with industry don’t just deliver huge economic benefits to the community but to Australia as a whole.”

Cotton Seed Distributors (CSD) Managing Director Peter Graham welcomed the opening of the new facilities saying it was a major boost not just for NSW but cotton growers Australia-wide.

“This increased capacity for the breeding and processing of cotton positions us strongly for growth in the domestic market and for a growing international presence,” Mr Graham said.

“The CSIRO-CSD partnership will grow to new heights as we boost the research effort here at Myall Vale and continue to grow interest internationally in the value of the Australian cotton industry.”

CSIRO first established a presence at Myall Vale in 1972 with the opening of the Cotton Research Unit with the NSW Department of Primary Industries, what is now the Australian Cotton Research Institute.

Quick Facts

• Cotton research was first established in NSW in 1958 with the opening of the Myall Vale Experimental Station
• 100 per cent of cotton grown in Australia is derived from the CSIRO breeding program
• The CSIRO Myall Vale facility employs more than 60 people including internationally-renowned plant breeders, entomologists, agronomists, water and soil scientists

Stonnington Crime Investigation Unit (CIU) detectives have arrested and charged two people in relation to a non-confrontational aggravated burglary in Malvern East on Thursday 16 February.

Detectives allege multiple offenders stole keys for three vehicles after entering the property via a rear window in the early hours of the morning.

The offenders then allegedly stole three vehicles from the garage including:

• 2016 Ferrari California

• 2020 Porsche Cayenne

• 2015 Maserati Ghibli

After waking up, the resident became aware the vehicles were stolen and reported the incident to police at around 8.30am.

The stolen Ferrari California was located on the same day, with the Police Air Wing sighting the vehicle dumped in the car park of a Dandenong shopping centre at 1:00 pm. Air Wing continued to follow the alleged offender, who fled the area on a stolen motorbike. A 17-year-old boy from Clyde North was subsequently arrested by detectives with the assistance of uniformed police. He has been charged with several offences including aggravated burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving while pursued by police, and other traffic related offences. He was to face a children’s court at a later date.

The Air Wing also located the stolen Porsche Cayenne at the same time on Princes Highway in Dandenong before it was also tracked to a Dandenong shopping centre. An alleged offender was observed departing the vehicle, before fleeing in another car. Uniformed police intercepted the vehicle on Clow Street Dandenong and arrested two people including:

• A 26-year-old man who was charged with theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving while pursued by police, and other traffic related offences. He was remanded to appear at the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 17 February 2023.

• A 57-year-old woman who was released pending further enquiries

The stolen Ferrari and Porsche has been recovered, however an orange 2015 Maserati Ghibli, which was also allegedly stolen from the same address remains outstanding.

Police are particularly keen to speak to anyone who saw or has dash cam footage of the Maserati driving erratically in the Dandenong, Waverley, or Malvern areas.

Police believe there are several other offenders also connected to the theft of these vehicles.

Anyone with information about this incident should contact Crime Stoppers confidentially on 1300 333 000 or submit a confidential report to Crime Stoppers online.

Geelong Crime Investigation Unit detectives have charged a man after he allegedly ran across the Geelong Racecourse track during a horserace last year.

The 29-year-old man has been charged with three counts of reckless conduct endangering life.

The charges follow an incident on Saturday 5 November during the tenth race of the day where it is alleged a man ran across the track as the field of horses and their jockeys approached the finishing post.

The Leopold man has been bailed to appear before Geelong Magistrates’ Court on 5 June 2023.

Six years after an elderly cyclist was critically injured and left for dead in the state’s north east, detectives from the Armed Crime Squad are again appealing for public assistance to solve one of the area’s biggest mysteries.

Kelvin Tennant was riding along the Myrtleford-Everton Rail Trail when he was shot a number of times about 12pm on Saturday 18 February, 2017.

It’s believed the shooter left the area in a dark-coloured sedan.

The then 72-year-old was found lying unconscious on the bike trail with gunshot wounds to his head and chest by two passing cyclists who then called for an ambulance.

Kelvin was subsequently airlifted to The Alfred hospital in a life-threatening condition and took months to recover from his injuries.

Six years on, he is still experiencing issues with his eyesight and hearing due to the shooting.

A significant investigation by detectives from the Armed Crime Squad has taken place in the years since the incident occurred, with police continuing to travel to the area in the hopes of one day finding answers for Kelvin and his family.

Despite this, detectives have still not been able to determine why Kelvin was targeted by the offender.

In May 2019, police also announced a $500,000 reward for information in the hope it would encourage someone to come forward with information.

That reward remains on offer.

While the shooting occurred in a relatively remote area, it is a popular location for visitors to the Great Alpine Road area, including the townships of Myrtleford and Bright.

The Myrtleford-Everton Rail Trail also attracts hundreds of cyclists during the warmer weather.

Investigators still believe it is possible that an interstate visitor on holidays in north-eastern Victoria that weekend has seen something, but doesn’t realise that what they know could be important.

Police remain keen to speak to anyone who was in the vicinity or passed through the Everton area on the weekend of 18 February in 2017.

A reward of up to $500,000 will be paid at the discretion of the Chief Commissioner of Police for information leading to the apprehension and subsequent conviction of the person or persons responsible for the shooting.

In appropriate cases, the Director of Public Prosecutions may consider, according to established guidelines, the granting of indemnification from prosecution to any person who provides information as to the identity of the principal offender or offenders in this matter.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report at Crime Stoppers online.

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Brad Potts: “Even though six years have passed since the shooting occurred, detectives are still keen to speak to anyone who may have information about who was responsible for the shooting and why.

“This took place in a small, fairly close knit area and we’re hopeful that over the years someone may have found out something about this incident and be ready to share it with police.

“Kelvin was simply out enjoying a bike ride along a beautiful regional trail when someone has tried to kill him, and we’ve never been able to uncover any possible motive for this.

“He loved the area and loved to ride his bike, and there is no way he would have expected this ride to end like this.

“I know every investigator who worked on this matter over the years would love to see it solved – not only to provide justice to Kelvin and his family, but also to find out the mystery of why this shooting occurred.”

An expanding research partnership between CSIRO and the US National Science Foundation is hoped to turbo charge international collaboration and joint research.

Climate change, clean energy and sustainability, building low emissions technologies and developing ethical artificial intelligence are some of the challenges being tackled by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) under a multi-million-dollar partnership.

The recently established partnership between the two leading science organisations is aiming to accelerate joint research and initiatives in areas of mutual priority between Australia and the United States.

CSIRO Chief Executive Larry Marshall said the two leading science organisations have already enabled a number of opportunities across the two countries in only a year, launching this month an AUD$100 million Global Centres initiative, partnering in the areas of responsible and ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI)  and developing sustainable materials for global challenges.

“As national science agencies, CSIRO and the NSF are working together to build international bridges for national benefit, strengthening our science and innovation to improve lives around the world,” Dr Marshall said.

“As the world races towards new applications for technologies like AI, it will take global collaboration to champion responsible and ethical applications that embrace the full potential of technological advances and drive healthy competitive advantages.

“CSIRO is proud to stand side-by-side with the NSF, committed to responsible and ethical AI not only through our own research, but by catalysing new opportunities across the ecosystem,” he said.

Three Australia-US teams were announced on Monday, February 20, as beneficiaries of the responsible and ethical AI grants totalling US$1.8 million from NSF and AUD$2.3 million from CSIRO, with the projects aligned to CSIRO’s Missions, including:

• Fair Sequential Collective Decision-Making – University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and UNSW Sydney.
• Understanding Bias in AI Models for the Prediction of Infectious Disease Spread – Emory University, Arizona State University, George Mason University, UNSW Sydney and RMIT University.
• Graph Representation Learning for Fair Teaming in Crisis Response – UCLA, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Technology Sydney and the University of Melbourne.

NSF Director, Sethuraman Panchanathan, currently meeting researchers in Australia, said the CSIRO-NSF partnership was already showing early impact.

A man has been charged with more than 20 offences following a series of erratic driving incidents in Wangaratta last Thursday February 16.

The 40-year-old man has been charged with:

• reckless conduct endangering life (x2)

• drive in a manner dangerous

• fail to remain at the scene of collision (x4)

• fail to exchange details (x4)

• numerous traffic offences

• possess drug dependence

• possession of imitation of firearms and gel blasters.

The charges follow multiple calls to Triple Zero (000) and reports to police of alleged erratic driving through Wangaratta’s main streets.

It was reported a 4WD towing a trailer was involved in multiple collisions and incidents where the driver was seen to allegedly cross onto the wrong side of the road, reportedly ran red lights and was involved in several near misses.

The collisions occurred in the vicinity of Parfitt, Greta and Riley roads, Hanley and Mason streets and the Hume Freeway.

The Queensland man was arrested by responding police after he fled from his vehicle and was seen walking along the freeway.

It is believed a number of vehicles were forced to swerve from the road to avoid hitting the man including a b-double which had to come to a complete stop.

He was expected to appear before Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court last Friday February 17.

Officers were appealing for any witnesses or anyone with dashcam vision who hasn’t already spoken to police to come forward.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto the Cime Stoppers website online.

Residents in the Koorocheang and Basalt area were on high alert over the past couple of days in the wake of a bushfire which broke out on Monday afternoon, spreading rapidly in dry conditions.

Multiple CFA units from across the region, Forest Fire Management Victoria, and air support have been involved in fighting the fire which has burnt through an estimated five to six hectares of bushland after starting in the Old Werona Road area around 4.30pm on Monday.

The fire had been brought under control after several hours of battling to contain it on Monday evening but residents in the area were still on alert yesterday when Forest Fire Management Victoria issued a community information message for Basalt, Bryces Flat, Daylesford, Hepburn, Hepburn Springs, Kidds Gully, Kooroocheang, Shepherds Flat. 

The message informed that

• The fire is now under control.
• Crews will continue to work on the fire throughout today (Tuesday February 21)
• Aircraft may be on the scene throughout today.
• Smoke may be visible from nearby communities and roads. 

It was understood that the fire had been started accidentally by the use of power tools in the area.

A woman has had her car impounded after she was caught drink driving following a collision in South Yarra in recent days.

Melbourne Highway Patrol officers responded to numerous reports of a collision at the intersection of Walsh Street and Domain Road about 3.40pm last Friday February 17.

It’s alleged the driver fled the scene without exchanging details.

Police attended the registered owner’s address and located the driver in the damaged vehicle with her two young children on board.

The driver tested positive to a preliminary breath test and was taken to a police station where she returned a reading of .341.

The driver’s licence was immediately suspended, and her vehicle impounded at a cost of $896.10.

A 41-year-old South Yarra woman was now expected to be charged on summons with drink driving and driving offences.

One in every 70 motorists tested was caught drink driving during a recent weekend operation on Melbourne’s Monash Freeway.

The alarming result – detected on Friday and Saturday night February 11-12, included some drivers who shouldn’t have any alcohol in their system at all.

The strike rate is well above the figure police usually see.

One in every 301 motorists tested was caught drink driving during Victoria Police’s most recent statewide operation across the Australia Day weekend.

There were 41 drink drivers detected from 2893 preliminary breath tests during Operation Colossus, which ran on the evenings of 10-11 February.

Twelve of those caught were required to have zero blood alcohol content.

They included a probationary driver who recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.192. The driver’s vehicle was immediately impounded, and their licence suspended.

Motorists required to have no alcohol in their system include probationary and learner drivers, anyone operating a bus or commercial passenger vehicle and those who have gotten their licence back after a drink driving or drug driving cancellation.

Operation Colossus – conducted by Southern Metro Division 3 Highway Patrol with support from the Road Policing Drug and Alcohol Section and Transport Branch – saw police targeting impaired drivers on the Monash Freeway.

An additional six drivers were detected on drugs from 79 preliminary oral fluid tests.

Police also impounded 16 vehicles and detected 18 unauthorised drivers who were either unlicenced, disqualified or suspended.

Victoria Police is issuing a zero-tolerance warning following the high number of drink driving detections on the weekend.

First-time offenders who go even a little bit over the blood alcohol limit face fines, loss of licence and disqualification.

The penalties are significantly more severe for drivers with high readings and repeat offenders.

They include potential jail time for the most serious offences.

Police will continue enforcing against drink and drug drivers in an effort to reduce road trauma.

There have been 49 lives lost on Victoria’s roads this year, up from 37 at the same time last year and the five-year average of 31.

For more information and tips for staying safe on the roads during the festive period, visit the Road Safety page on the Victoria Police website.

Southern Metro Division 3 Superintendent Jo Stafford:“These results are shocking. To detect so many drink drivers in just two nights is extremely concerning.

“Even worse, many of those caught shouldn’t have had any alcohol in their system whatsoever.

“Choosing to drink and drive demonstrates blatant disregard not only for your own safety but the safety of your passengers and all road users.

“There is absolutely no excuse for drink driving.

“Police are conducting alcohol tests at every opportunity and if you think you won’t get caught – think again.

“We won’t hesitate to remove drink drivers from the roads – even if you’re only a little bit over”

Westgate Highway Patrol officers are appealing for information after a hit-run collision in Altona Meadows in recent days.

Police have been told the unregistered scooter collided with a cyclist on Laverton Creek Trail near Victoria Street about 6.30pm on Sunday, February 12.

Officers were told two men riding the scooter didn’t stop at the scene and ran from the crash on foot northbound towards Victoria Street.

The cyclist, a 51-year-old Laverton man was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Investigators have released images of items left behind at the scene which include a silver SYM brand scooter, a red and black helmet and a silver metal chain necklace.

Anyone who witnessed the collision, with information or dashcam or anyone who saw the scooter driving erratically prior to the collision is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto the Crime Stoppers website.

Police are investigating an assault at Lal Lal near Ballarat earlier this month.

Investigators have been told a 29-year-old woman was running through a forested area near the Blast Furnace Picnic Area when she was approached by a man sometimes between 4-5.30pm on Saturday night, February 11.

The offender struck her in the head with a hand-made weapon, knocking her unconscious.

The victim woke to find the offender had fled, and reported the incident.

The woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening facial injuries.

The male offender is perceived to be Caucasian in appearance and was wearing black jeans, a cap and no shoes or shirt.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or with dashcam footage or CCTV is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto Crime Stoppers website online.