Australia Prepares To Launch First Commercial Space Rockets

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Space Launch australia

Three launch payloads in total set to launch into space on June 26, July 4, and July 12.

Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA), a NASA client, is helping Australia prepare for the space race. Although many countries are still preparing for space, Australia’s launch will take place this month.

It doesn’t matter who is the first, but who’s also involved in the space race. Apart from the United States and China, India has also launched their own space projects.

There is a lot of support for spaceflight, not only in government but also in the private sector like SpaceX. The world is changing and becoming more supportive of spaceflight. Australia will be the newest addition to the crew, especially as this will be Australia’s first commercial space launch.

Australia is getting ready for its first space launch with NASA’s help. The original plan was to launch the rockets in 2020, but the pandemic forced the delay.

ELA is the owner, developer and operator of Arnhem Space Centre, which is located in the Northern Territory of Australia’s Gove Peninsula. Anthony Albanese (the newly elected PM) made the announcement about the launch during his visit to Darwin.

The PM spoke at a press conference and stated that it was “tremendous to be here today in Darwin to declare Equatorial Launch Australia [are] a] go for launching right here in Northern Territory.”

This launch will be a major feat, as it will mark the first time NASA has launched from a commercial spaceport. Three rocket launches will be used to conduct different astrophysics researches that are only possible in the Southern Hemisphere.

Arnhem Space Centre is the only multi-user commercial equatorial rocket launch site. It is located in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and offers many unique advantages for space launches.

The launch will include three launches, the first being on June 26, and the second on July 4. The third will take place on July 12. ELA will be welcoming over 70 NASA employees who are from Wallops Flight Facility to assist with the first commercial space launch in Australia. 

Safety reasons prevent close-up viewing of the rocket launch from the ASC. However, there might be live broadcasts from the launch, but not too close to it

These are the three launch dates and the payloads

  • June 26 – launch will carry the X-ray quantum calorimeter (XQC)
  • July 4 – launch is SISTINE or the Suborbital Imaging Spectrograph for the Transition Region Irradiance of Nearby Exoplanet Host Stars
  • July 12 – launch is DEUCE or Dual-Channel Extreme Ultraviolet Continuum Experiment