Rocket failed to launch to edge of space from SA outback
The rocket that was to launch on Tuesday from the South Australian outback to the edge of space has misfired – but there are already plans to try again in the coming days.
SA News
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What began with all the excitement and anticipation of a Christmas morning soon turned into disappointment after Southern Launch’s rocket failed to ignite and make history 40km northwest of Ceduna.
Many school kids as well as travellers from as far away as Brisbane, braved the heat and made their way out to the launch site in hopes to see the monumental event.
While the original launch time was estimated for 12pm on Tuesday, delays caused by mechanical problems and an observer entering the launch range via a car to get a better view set the launch time back by nearly two hours.
Lloyd Damp, Chief executive of Southern Launch, said he was disappointed by the misfire but hoped that this would be the last of many hurdles the company had overcome to make this dream a reality.
“This is an unfortunate outcome but we have learnt so much from it,” he said.
The company began work immediately to unpack the rocket to work out what went wrong in the hopes of hitting the range again on Wednesday.
“We ignited the rocket motor but the rocket itself didn’t ignite,” Mr Damp said.
“It’s not the outcome we wanted but we are thankful that it is a safe outcome.”
The spectators in attendance did not hang around once the announcement was made, one young schoolgoer even dropped to the floor in tears explaining how he had been waiting all day for the rocket.
At 3.4m long and weighing 34kg, the DART rocket is a fraction of the size of rockets launched by NASA and SpaceX.
Premier Steven Marshall, who was at the failed launch attempt, said today was a first step as Australia looked to create a $12bn space sector with 20,000 new jobs by 2030.
“With innovation like this there are often lots of steps which are taken and this is just a taste of what’s to come,” he said.
DEWC systems Chief executive Ian Spencer said that although the failed attempt was disheartening, the crew was happy that it was out of the way.
“We got that one out the way right,” Mr Spencer laughed.
“It’s not a real rocket launch activity unless we have at least one failure.”
A successful launch will see it travel up to 100km into the atmosphere, at five times the speed of sound, before its payload falls back to Earth under a parachute and lands in a remote national park.
Its payload will be a hi-tech electronic warfare prototype, designed by SA defence contractor DEWC Systems for detecting radar signals.
The launch will enable the company to conduct frequency sensing tests.
“Being able to access space from SA will be a turning point,” DEWC Systems chief executive Ian Spencer said earlier in the week.
“This mission demonstrates that the local space industry is ready and capable to step up and do great things at a time when it is sorely needed,” he said.
The launch itself is part of the “new space” movement, which is gearing up to become a lucrative new industry for SA.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison officially opened Adelaide’s Space HQ earlier this year.
