The rocket was launched shortly after midnight local time on Monday from the Arnhem Space Center on the Dhupuma Plateau, near the city of Nhulunbui, according to Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA), the center’s developer, owner and operator.
The rocket is expected to travel more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) in space during its mission to observe the constellations Alpha Centauri A and B – the closest star systems to Earth.
Alpha Centauri has special significance for Australia. It is mostly visible only from the Southern Hemisphere and is one of the “pointers” to the constellation Southern Cross, which appears on the country’s flag, according to Reuters.
Monday’s event also went down in Australian history as the country’s first commercial space launch. This was the first of three launches, with an additional two scheduled for July 4th and July 12th. They will perform astrophysical research that can only be done by the Southern Hemisphere, according to NASA.
Michael Jones, CEO and CEO of the ELA group, said it was a historic night.
“We could never dream of having such a supportive, experienced and professional partner as NASA. “They were incredibly generous in helping us through this journey, and we will be a much better organization to support them,” Jones said in a statement.
“Today’s launch not only puts ELA at the forefront of global commercial space launches, but also confirms that we and Australia can provide access to space, and this is just the beginning for us,” he added.
Australian National University astrophysicist Brad Tucker, who was on site to observe the launch, said wind and rain had previously caused some nervousness about whether it would continue.
But after a delay of more than an hour, excitement erupted as the rocket took off.
“At that last moment, almost everyone ran outside to see the launch and to watch in awe. Even after we lost sight of the rocket, people stood outside for so long,” Tucker said.
Tucker said suborbital missions are aimed at better understanding star systems and whether habitable planets exist there.
NASA is the first customer of the commercial spaceport operated by ELA, and 70 of its staff have traveled to Australia for the three missions.
The US space agency said the mission would study the evolution of galaxies by measuring X-rays produced by hot gases that fill the space between stars.
The Arnhem Space Center is described as the only commercial property and managed multi-user equatorial launch site in the world.
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