Career story
Sarah’s career began the way many space stories do, with a childhood habit of looking up.
That early fascination carried her to a PhD in astronomy, where she studied how galaxies evolve using radio telescopes – including Murriyang, CSIRO's iconic Parkes Radio Telescope, more commonly known as 'The Dish'.
In a field where the signals are faint and the questions are vast, Sarah learned a discipline that still guides her work – follow the evidence, test the story the data is telling, and translate complex results into something others can scrutinise and trust.
Making the invisible concrete
Alongside the science, Sarah noticed a familiar pattern in public conversations. Everyday Aussies captivated by space, then quickly ask the practical question: “But what’s it for?”
Rather than dismiss that scepticism, she leaned into it – becoming passionate about explaining how space-enabled technologies underpin everyday life, from communications and navigation to Earth observation and risk management.
Leaving academia didn’t mean leaving space. It meant moving closer to the people who were curious about it and learning how to meet them where they were.
As a Sydney Observatory guide, public speaker and media spokesperson, Sarah refined the craft of clarity.
Her checklist was simple: start with what your audience already knows, avoid jargon without dumbing down, and make the invisible feel concrete.
Those habits – especially knowing your audience and tailoring your message – now help her bridge worlds where everyone is an expert in something, but rarely in everything.
Shaping public experiences about space
In 2019, Sarah brought that audience-first mindset to the Powerhouse Museum’s Apollo 11 exhibition, which she co‑curated as more than a tribute to a famous mission. The aim was breadth and immediacy: Space Race politics and rocketry technology, yes – but also space‑inspired fashion and design, to welcome visitors who might not arrive as 'space people'.
Just as importantly, the exhibition made the story unmistakably Australian, highlighting the nation’s role in tracking the mission and receiving the live broadcast of the first moonwalk. Interactive elements helped the history feel lived rather than distant; a highlight was a VR experience that placed visitors inside the Apollo Command Module. And it looked forward too, linking Apollo 11 to Australia’s emerging space future.
Sarah’s view of the sector widened further through Task Eternal, a first-of-its-kind aerospace exhibition developed for the new Powerhouse Parramatta. The project immersed her in the modern space ecosystem – launch providers, satellite operators, rover teams, astronauts, spacesuit designers, microgravity researchers, space lawyers, space architects, and the Australian Space Agency. It was a crash course in how many disciplines space now holds – and how much progress depends on collaboration across groups that don’t always share the same language.
Today, those experiences converge in a role where space meets public value every day: Space Sector Engagement Lead at the Bureau of Meteorology.
Supporting Australia's spaceflight future
The Bureau’s expertise extends beyond forecasting rain and heat; it also supports a growing space industry that is highly sensitive to conditions in both the atmosphere and the space environment.
Through the Australian Spaceflight Weather Service, the Bureau brings meteorology and space weather together to inform decisions across the arc of spaceflight – launch, flight and return – so operators can plan safely, protect assets and operate efficiently.
Ask Sarah what’s most rewarding and she points to impact: safer, more efficient and more sustainable operations as launches and returns from Australian soil become more routine.
For students and early‑career professionals, her advice is direct – stay curious, take on challenges that stretch you, and don’t be spooked by a non‑linear path. In doing so, she's helping Australia plan for more launches and returns ahead.
Career timeline
Graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Sydney, majoring in Physics and Chemistry. For her Honours thesis, Sarah used radio astronomy data to search for the 'missing' supernova remnants predicted by stellar evolution models.
Completed her PhD in astronomy at the University of Sydney, studying how galaxies grow and evolve over cosmic time, and preparing for the (then) next generation of radio telescopes like the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder.
During this time Sarah also worked as an astronomy guide at the historic Sydney Observatory and tutored undergraduate Physics courses at the University.
Held a range of curatorial roles at the Powerhouse Museum, developing exhibitions such as Experimentations (an interactive children's science exhibition), Apollo 11, Catalina (about the first ever flight from Australia to South America), and Task Eternal.
While specialising in space and astronomy, Sarah also worked on the digitisation of the Museum's 500,000 object collection, spent a period looking after the transport and aviation collection, and helped develop science education programs for schools.
Commenced as Space Sector Engagement Lead at the Bureau of Meteorology, working with Australia's spaceflight sector (launch and return providers and spacecraft operators) to understand what weather and space weather information they need to operate safely, and how the Bureau can support those operations – and in doing so, to support the continued growth of Australia's space industry.