New launch facilities at the Koonibba Test Range, South Australia’s first permanent spaceport, are almost complete ahead of the impending inaugural launch.
Located northwest of Ceduna, the range is a partnership between Southern Launch and the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation. It is the largest commercial testing range in the Southern Hemisphere.
Space Industries Minister Susan Close visited the site on 27 March ahead of the suborbital test launch of German manufacturer HyImpulse’s SR75 rocket, which, subject to final regulatory approval, will go ahead at the end of April or early May.
The rocket will reach an altitude of 50 kilometres before parachuting back to Earth where it will be recovered for testing. The launch will test HyImpulse’s hybrid propulsion technology which combines paraffin wax and liquid oxygen – a non-explosive fuel that revolutionises rocket handling and logistics.
Southern Launch and the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation have been working since 2017 to develop the range. The new facilities will help to provide local employment, investment and educational opportunities for members of the local Koonibba community, as well as the wider Eyre Peninsula. The partnership will also see the development of an Astronomical Centre and Observatory, with the range expected to attract both tourists and global space companies, contributing more than $500,000 annually to the Koonibba community. South Australian steel company Ferretti International and hydraulic engineers Hydroil manufactured the transportable rocket launcher being used for the test.
"We are incredibly proud of our partnership with the Koonibba community to construct permanent facilities at the Koonibba Test Range that will bring wide-ranging benefits to the local community and to the Australian space industry. The permanent, world-class facilities at the Koonibba Test Range will put Australia on the map as a space-faring nation," Southern Launch CEO Lloyd Damp said . "We have a long list of global customers ready to use the range and we’re excited about the incredible opportunities this presents for Koonibba and South Australia,. HyImpulse are pioneering the development of new rocket technology and we are
excited to assist with their maiden launch – the first from our permanent facilities."
Geraldine Ware, Chair, Koonibba Community Aboriginal added that the local community and the Ceduna region are "excited" for the first launch.
"Partnering with Southern Launch to develop these permanent facilities on our land secures our future as a community and provides an industry to support and inspire our people," she said. "The Koonibba Test Range brings wide-ranging benefits to our people from investment, employment through to inspiring our children and young people to pursue careers that could be out of this world!"