German space agency DLR will be testing rockets in SA’s Outback with the help of Southern Launch

Southern Launch recently hosted representatives from German space agency DLR ahead of a test launch of their reusable rocket system.

A previous test carried out by Southern Launch at the Whalers Way launch complex. Picture: Southern Launch, ,

German rockets will be blasting off from the South Australian Outback in the not-too-distant future after experts from the European nation’s space agency visited recently.

Southern Launch, which operates launch facilities at Whalers Way near Port Lincoln and Koonibba near Ceduna, hosted a team from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) ahead of a launch program expected to take place in 2024.

The Adelaide company’s chief executive Lloyd Damp said DLR was one of the space organisations and private companies now looking into reusable rockets, and would be testing its ReFEX (reusability flight experiment) rocket system.

The ReFEX rocket is about 2.7m long with a wingspan of 1.1m and weighs about 450kg. It is designed to reach speeds of about Mach 5 (6174km/h) during its re-entry manoeuvre.

Mr Damp said that unlike the SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets which are designed to land in an upright position, the ReFEX was designed to come to a controlled belly landing.

“DLR is very similar to NASA,’’ Mr Damp said.

“They’ve been running a long program developing what the next generation of reusable rockets look like.

“DLR have been working on flying back the rocket boosters as if they are aircraft.’’

Mr Damp said that the ReFEX booster was designed to fly in to land like a plane, and the 2024 launch would be their “first big experiment to validate these technologies’’.

Mr Damp said a DLR team had recently been in Adelaide on a scouting mission, with representatives from the rocket launching and flight teams on the ground.

“They came in to meet Southern launch’s team and go out to Koonibba and see the great Outback,’’ Mr Damp said.

The remote location of the Koonibba rocket range was ideal for such programs Mr Damp said, as it allowed organisations such as DLR to collect their rocket and their flight vehicle after launch, and then examine how they had performed.

The ReFEX launch is expected to take the rocket to about 140km from the earth’s surface, Mr Damp said.

“They’ll get into space, then they’ll re-enter and do some manoeuvres in the air before what is hopefully a graceful belly landing.

“We’re currently planning to have about 60 DLR staff on site for the test, it’s a big event, almost a mini-engineering town of infrastructure out at the range to support such a complex activity.

“We’re working very closely with the Koonibba community to support this activity.’’

Southern Launch’s infrastructure provided for DLR on site includes the launch pad, launch rail, and somewhere to construct the rocket, among other elements.

“And on the launch day we’ll be managing the entire range, we’ll work with CASA and other regulators to ensure that the rocket can fly safely,’’ Mr Damp said.

Mr Damp said the company was hoping to do 10-20 launches per year from Koonibba.

“This is different customers coming to us to test different types of rockets, different technology on rockets, you name it,’’ he said.

Mr Damp said with an uptick in interest around advanced manufacturing in Australia there was a lot going on in terms of advanced materials, some of which needed to be tested in environments such as space.

“We’ve got quite a few launches for Koonibba scheduled for this year,’’ he said.

Southern Launch was recently awarded up to $4.95m in partnership with AT Space and RTI as part of the federal modern manufacturing initiative grants scheme.

The money would be used in part to develop the first stage of the Whalers Way space port and develop AT Space’s Adelaide base.