The primary Australian satellite list that exists is by the Australian Space Agency, under the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, developed in 2022. It has been established for those who are not subject matter experts, that tabulated lists does not reflect insight into the capability to a member of the public or reflect the pertinent functions of satellites to everyday life. This list contains information such as space object name, launch date, basic orbital parameters, and general function. Subsequently, five other existing satellite databases have been utilised for data collection in developing the Excel spreadsheet. It was found that some of the databases were more reputable than others upon cross-checking information with other sources, predominately due to a lack of regular updates of launches. Below are the other 5 databases used in conjunction to the register.

• The Space Track database (Space-Track.org), developed by SAIC, attributes 48 entries to Australian-operated satellites, with 13 information columns for each satellite, making it a more current and reliable source.

• The Union of Concerned Scientists (USC) database (Satellite Database | Union of Concerned Scientists (ucsusa.org) has a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet with 28 dataset columns relevant to each satellite. However, as the USC is a non-profit organisation, there is no immediate onus on the USC to keep the database current. 

• The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) (United Nations Register of Objects Launched into Outer Space (unoosa.org) has an online index of objects launched into outer space, however, it was found that a limitation of this source was that most of the information had been specified by an external source. Additionally, the source states that it has not been officially communicated to the United Nations.

• Gunter’s Space Page (Gunter's Space Page - Information on spaceflight, launch vehicles and satellites (skyrocket.de), developed by Gunter Dirk Krebs, lists Australian satellites, where this database, upon cross checking information with other sources was found to be quite accurate.

• The final database is Erik Kulu’s nanosat database (Nanosatellite & CubeSat Database | Nanosats Database). Whilst these sources aid the scope by containing information that did not already exist in the Excel spreadsheet, the primary limitation of these sources was that they were not kept immediately current upon new launches.

All these databases were collated to cross-check all information in the Excel spreadsheet numerous times. The Australian Government database was used as the main database as it is most likely to be current and correct in accordance with the 2018 Space (Launches and Returns) Act. The additional data collected was to facilitate the aim and scope to ensure the database created was more thorough to help portray a more accurate description of Australia’s satellite capability, such as by linking datasets where necessary to show causation effects.