Adelaide company Southern Launch granted Australia’s first space launch facility licence

A South Australian company has been granted the country’s first space launch facility licence.

South Australia is set to rocket the nation’s space sector to new heights after an Adelaide company was granted the country’s first ever launch facility licence.

Southern Launch has obtained a licence from the Federal Government for the Koonibba Test Range, northwest of Ceduna.

The move opens the door for the site to become a launch pad for future commercial launches of suborbital rockets – where rockets fly up into space and fall back down to earth under parachutes into uninhibited national parks north of Koonibba.

Southern Launch chief executive officer Lloyd Damp said the company was thrilled to be the first to hold an Australian launch facility licence.

“This means that for the first time, Australian companies can send rockets and payloads up to space from a civilian launch site,” he said.

“The Koonibba Test Range will have a significant benefit to the Koonibba community and the broader regional centre of Ceduna, including the opportunity for ongoing local employment, education and the development of a new space tourism industry.”

The first-ever Australian launch facility licence has been granted to Adelaide company Southern Launch. Picture: Supplied

Mr Damp said the test range would allow Southern Launch’s customers to send prototype electronics for satellites, telescopes and new materials above the earth’s atmosphere “and even potentially perform microgravity experiments for new pharmaceuticals”.

He said the facility would be used to support STEM education, young international start-ups, world-leading space agencies such as DLR (German Aerospace Centre) and their 2023 ReFEx flight.

Furthermore, Mr Damp said the licence positioned Australia “one step closer to once again being a space faring nation”.

“(It also) sets Southern Launch up for developing and operating the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex where the company is proposing to send satellites into space, something that has not happened for 50 years,” he said.

The first launch from the Koonibba Test Range in September last year was permitted under a Civil Aviation Safety Authority licence.

Southern Launch successfully launched four payloads to the edge of space.

The company says it has a strong pipeline of customers lining up to use the test range in 2021.

Premier Steven Marshall said the licence was “yet another coup for our space sector”.

“The Federal Government is working to triple the size of the Australian Space sector to $12 billion and create an extra 20,000 jobs by 2030 – and South Australia is leading this charge,” he said.

Federal Industry, Science and Technology Minister Karen Andrews described the granting of the licence as a “major milestone” that would unlock opportunities for local space businesses.

“Australia’s geographical location and wide open spaces makes it optimal for various launch activities and suborbital rocket launches provide an important capability to space-qualify Australian hardware and technology,” she said.

Australian Space Agency head Enrico Palermo said the agency, which oversaw the licensing process, was committed to providing a supportive environment for industry growth in Australia.

“Our forthcoming technical roadmap on access to space will further explore launch activities by providing a vision, ambition and aspirational capability targets to grow a globally-respected and thriving industry in Australia,” he said.

Federal Grey MP Rowan Ramsey said the licence was a major win for the region.

“Our part of South Australia has long been an important player in the global space sector thanks to the Woomera Prohibited Area,” he said.

“This will further strengthen our region’s space bonafides, with a new focus on commercial enterprise that will grow the economy and create jobs,” Mr Ramsey said.

“We can build upon the significant work already in place to grow this into a major industry, not just for Eyre Peninsula but for the whole state.”