Australia hosts ‘historic’ Nasa launch – first from commercial site outside US
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed the launch as the start of a ‘new era’ for the country’s space industry
- Rockets had to be hauled on barges to the remote launch site, about 28 hours drive from Darwin in northern Australia
In the first of three planned launches from the Arnhem Space Centre, the rocket, carrying technology likened to a “mini Hubble” telescope, lifted off – blasted about 350 kilometres (218 miles) into the night sky.
“It is a momentous occasion for us as a company in particular, but it’s historic for Australia,” Equatorial Launch Australia CEO Michael Jones said ahead of the lift-off.
Jones, whose company owns and operates the launch site in the far north of Australia, described it as a “coming out” party for the country’s space industry and said the chance to work with Nasa was a milestone for commercial space firms in the country.
After a series of rain and wind delays, the suborbital sounding rocket soared into the sky to study X-rays emanating from the Alpha Centauri A and B systems.
After reaching its apogee, the rocket’s payload was to capture data on the star systems before parachuting back to earth.