Essay by Eric Worrall
Australia’s first commercial space launch, from our Arnhem Space Center near the Equator, will take place at 10.44pm ACST (06:14am on Sunday California Time).
NASA launches rocket from Arnhem Land tonight
By Emily McPherson • Senior Journalist 8:17 am on June 26, 2022
History is making with the US space agency NASA prepare to launch a rocket into the sky east of Arnhem Land tonight.
This is the first time since 1995 that a rocket will take off from Australian soil and the first time NASA has launched a commercial rocket.
The NASA rocket will take off from the red earth at Arnhem Space Center outside Nhulunbuy at around 10:44 a.m. local time tonight.
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The space center is privately owned and operated by Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA).
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Further reading (including videos): https://www.9news.com.au/national/nasa-to-launch-rocket-from-arnhem-land-tonight/4ae93e45-4392-4167-ba5c-20e6090dc5df
Details on how to watch the live stream are available here. The payload will be the atmospheric sensors, according to Press Release.
Australia’s lack of development of space facilities is a source of continued confusion for me.
Australia’s political stability, highly skilled workforce, resources and availability of large, inexpensive vantage points near equatorial land launch sites, 12° South in this case should have made Australia a mecca for commercial space launch. However, the last Aussie launch of any description was in 1995.
Hope Equatorial Space Launch will fix all of that.
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