NASA’s first launch from a commercial base outside the United States took place in Australia this Sunday, a “historic” moment for that country’s space industry.
It was the first of three planned launches from the Arnhem Space Center. The rocket, with technology similar to a mini Hubble telescope, was launched and flew about 350 kilometers into the night sky of the Australian Outback.
“It’s an important moment for us as a company in particular, but it’s historic for Australia,” Michael Jones, CEO of Equatorial Launch Australia, told AFP shortly before leaving.
Jones, whose company owns and operates a launch pad in Australia’s far north, described the achievement as a “coming-out party” for the country’s aerospace industry and stressed that the opportunity to partner with NASA marked a milestone for the industry. . †
After a series of weather delays, the suborbital flight rocket ripped through the sky to study X-rays emanating from the Alpha Centauri A and B systems.
After reaching its zenith, the payload of the launch vehicle must capture data from these galaxies before returning to Earth.
According to NASA, the launch offers a unique view of these distant systems and opens a window of opportunity for scientists.
“We’re excited to be able to launch important science missions from the Southern Hemisphere and observe objects we can’t from the United States,” Nicky Fox, director of NASA’s heliophysics division in Washington, said in an announcement of the mission.
According to Michael Jones, the unique location made preparations difficult, with years of work to get government approval, and there was still a need to transport the rockets on barges to the launch site, about 28 hours from Darwin, in the north from Australia.
This is NASA’s first rocket launched from Australia since 1995, and the project has been hailed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the beginning of a “new era” for the country’s aerospace industry.
Source: El heraldo
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