A Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) space researcher has just finished a year-long placement at France's renowned national space agency.
Monique Hollick has been seconded to the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) in Toulouse - an agency responsible for shaping and implementing France's space policy with a focus on strategic, economic and scientific advancements.
She was offered the opportunity through the Defence Science and Technology International Fellowship (DIF) program.
The program encourages DSTG employees to advance their scientific expertise and experience at an internationally renowned institution for a period of 12 months.
Ms Hollick has been working as a space systems engineer at DSTG since 2017, after joining Defence as a graduate.
Her first job was a dream come true - operating Defence's first satellite in 50 years, the Buccaneer Risk Mitigation Mission.
"More recently, my job has been focused on developing the successor to this satellite, the Buccaneer Main Mission, through managing system budgets, requirements, payload interfaces and 'assembly, integration and test' activities," she said.
Ms Hollick was awarded the fellowship opportunity in 2019, however, due to COVID restrictions, she was forced to postpone until last year when her family took the plunge and relocated to France.
At CNES, Ms Hollick embedded in the Nanolab Academy, a group that develops nanosatellites as a training group and technology testbed for space missions.
"My role in the group is similar to my role in Australia, and so my learnings have been very relevant," she said.
Ms Hollick said her perspective on the global space ecosystem has been strengthened through the deep expert knowledge and connections she has made.
"Living in France, with a toddler in tow, has been challenging at times, but we have made some invaluable memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives," she said.
