Arnhem Space Centre

12°22′53″S 136°48′50″E

Arnhem Space Centre
AbbreviationASC
TypeCommercial spaceport
Location
OwnerEquatorial Launch Australia
Websiteela.space/arnhem-space-centre/

The Arnhem Space Centre (ASC) is Australia's first and only commercial spaceport, located near Nhulunbuy, in Arnhem Land, Australia. It is owned and operated by Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA), and it is the site of NASA's first non-orbital sounding rocket launch from a commercial port outside the United States on 27 June 2022.

Background

The project was announced in 2019.[1]

Description

The spaceport is located near Nhulunbuy, a township on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory.[2] The ASC is owned and operated by Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA),[3] which has its head office in Adelaide, South Australia.[4][5]

Arnhem Space Centre is equipped to launch both sub-orbital flights and small orbital flights. The site's location, only 12 degrees south of the equator, is preferable for orbital rockets launching east, as extra speed is provided due to the spin of Earth.[6] It is the first commercial spaceport in Australia, and as of July 2022 the only one.[7]

Launches

On 26 June 2022, the American space agency NASA used the site for its first launch from a commercial port outside the United States.[7][8] The rocket was a Black Brant IX carrying a X-ray Quantum Calorimeter (XQC)[9] instrument for UW–Madison for the purpose of X-ray astronomy for a brief period ( 5-20 min) in space. [10] The mission was a suborbital flight with apogee of 203 mi (327 km). It was the first launch of a suborbital sounding rocket from Arnhem Space Centre in north-east Arnhem Land.[11] The mission was successful.

A second launch was scheduled for 4 July but was delayed until 6 July 11:17pm ACST due to weather conditions. The spacecraft, named Sistine III, was sent by NASA to investigate the properties of astronomical transits of nearby exoplanets.[12][13]

The third launch took place on 11 July 2022 at 8:31pm ACST, carrying the fourth DEUCE mission, intended by NASA to investigate and analyze the Alpha Centauri star system's ultraviolet spectrum.[13]

As of July 2022 the long term future of the site was not known, but Equatorial Launch Australia had indicated that there are other space companies interested in using the rocket launch pad, and NASA has confirmed that it will use the facility again in the future.[2]

In August 2023, ELA announced that there would be launches by early 2023 by INNOSPACE of South Korea.[14]

Collaboration with Phantom

In 2023 ELA signed an agreement Phantom Space Corporation, a US rocket company, to collaborate on missions at ASC. Phantom has links to the US Department of Defense, and an ELA spokesperson said that the launch site could one day be used for missile-testing and development. Phantom hopes to mass-produce rockets, which could be fired from the ASC site by 2025. While the main focus is on commercial uses, the potential for involvement in military use has raised concerns among the local community.[15]

See also

References
  1. "NASA's surprise Aussie pick for rocket launch". news.com.au. 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  2. Garrick, Matt (13 July 2022). "NASA's inaugural Northern Territory mission is over, but hopes for a space industry boom remain". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  3. "Arnhem Space Centre". Equatorial Launch Australia.
  4. Contact ELA
  5. Arnhem Space Centre operator opens headquarters in Adelaide
  6. "Arnhem Space Centre". Developing East Arnhem. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  7. "NASA launches first rocket from Australian commercial spaceport". BBC News. 27 June 2022.
  8. Hatfield, Miles (26 June 2022). "NASA Sounding Rocket Mission Seeks Source of X-rays Emanating From Inner Galaxy". NASA. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  9. "X-ray Quantum Calorimeter (XQC)". GSFC. NASA. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  10. Adkins, Jamie (6 March 2015). "Sounding Rockets Overview". NASA. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  11. Thompson, Jesse (14 October 2021). "NASA personnel, Gumatj locals ready Arnhem Space Centre for historic, mid-2022 blast-off". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  12. "NASA successfully launches second rocket in remote Australia, flags more missions ahead". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  13. Johnson-Groh, Jamie; Adkins, Mara (11 July 2022). "NASA Rockets Launch from Australia to Seek Habitable Star Conditions". NASA. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  14. South Korean company INNOSPACE signs contract to fire orbital rockets in north-east Arnhem Land, Matt Garrick, ABC News Online, 2023-08-17
  15. Garrick, Matt (26 April 2023). "Arnhem Land space centre could be used for missile testing and development, Equatorial (sic) Launch Australia says". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 30 April 2023.
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