NASA’s first launch from a commercial base outside the United States took place this Sunday (26) in Australia, a historic moment for the country’s space industry.
In the first of three planned launches at the Arnhem Space Center, the rocket, carrying technology comparable to a “mini” Hubble telescope, was launched and soared about 350 km into the Australian Outback’s night sky.
“It’s an important occasion for us as a company in particular, but it’s historic for Australia,” Michael Jones, CEO of Equatorial Launch Australia, told AFP shortly before takeoff.
Jones, whose company owns and operates a launch pad in the far north of Australia, described the feat as a “coming-out party” for the country’s space industry and stressed that the opportunity to work with NASA represented a milestone for the industry. Australian commercial space.
After a series of weather delays, the suborbital sounding rocket tore through the skies to study x-rays emanating from the Alpha Centauri A and B systems.
After reaching its apogee, the rocket’s payload must capture data from these star systems before returning to Earth.
According to NASA, the launch offers a unique look at these distant systems and opens a window of possibilities for scientists.
“We are excited to be able to launch important science missions from the southern hemisphere and observe objects that we cannot from the United States,” Nicky Fox, director of NASA’s heliophysics division in Washington, said in the mission announcement.
According to Jones, the unique location made preparations difficult, with years of work to get regulatory approval and the need to transport rockets on barges to the launch site, which is about a 28-hour drive from Darwin in northern Australia.
This is NASA’s first rocket launched from Australia since 1995, and the project has been hailed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the beginning of a “new era” for the country’s space industry.
