Since its establishment in 2018, the Australian Space Agency has been leading the national charge in driving space industry innovation, research and entrepreneurial development.
Based in Adelaide’s Lot Fourteen building, the Space Agency plays a huge role in Australia’s COVID economic recovery, as well as creating high tech jobs, and developing technologies that can improve how other areas of the economy recover including agriculture, medicine and mining.
SA continues to lead the national charge for the space industry, encouraging Australians to make their mark in the global space race. This was demonstrated recently when SA company Fleet Space Technologies launched its third nanosatellite launch with SpaceX in March.
After a two-year evaluation, the Australian Space Agency has also just awarded Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) and the Arnhem Space Centre (ASC) their Launch Facilities Licence and the Launch Permit.
Subsequently, ELA – the developer, owner and operator of the Arnhem Space Centre (ASC) in the Northern Territory – has announced that its client, NASA, will be making Australia’s first commercial space launch on the evening of Sunday 26 June 2022.
On 26 June, a BBIX rocket will travel to over 300KMs in space, carrying an atmospheric observation/sensing platform to observe the Alpha Centauri A & B constellations.
The historic launch is also NASA’s first launch from a fully commercial spaceport and will be one of three rocket launches, with the others planned for 4 and 12 July, to conduct astrophysics studies that can only be done from the Southern Hemisphere.
The rockets are 13 metre “sounding” rockets that will not reach orbit but will take scientific observations.
The Arnhem Space Centre is the only commercially owned and run multi-user equatorial launch site in the world and is located 12 degrees south of the equator on the Gulf of Carpentaria offering unique benefits for space launches. ASC is also unique as most spaceports are federal/government owned/operated facilities.
“The three NASA launches marks the end of the first stage of the development of both the ASC spaceport and ELA as a world class launch services company. We will now commence the development of Phase 2 of the ASC which includes the construction of additional larger launch pads to accommodate medium sized/larger payload rockets,” said Executive Chairman and Group CEO of ELA, Michael Jones.
“The geographic location, proximity to the equator and the extensive logistics services offered on the Gove/Nhulunbuy area makes the ASC very attractive to global rocket companies and allows us to provide a commercially attractive alternative to the French government’s Kourou equatorial launch site in French Guiana.”
The Arnhem Space Centre is one of three commercial launch sites in Australia.
South Australia’s Southern Launch also conducted sub-orbital launches from its Koonibba Test Range in 2020. The company has also recently obtained a licence to operate its own commercial launch site on the Eyre Peninsula.
To learn more about the Australian Space Agency, click here.
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