NT space company targets one launch a week as US contract looms
Equatorial Launch Australia has big plans for its Gove space base. Read about its ambitious vision to launch a rocket every week.
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NT space company Equatorial Launch Australia is moving towards an exclusivity deal with an American rocket manufacturer that could see dozens of satellites launched in the Territory from 2025.
ELA and Phantom Space Corporation have reached an agreement that could see the Arnhem Space Centre used as the US manufacturer’s dedicated launch site.
The deal will depend on the success of test launches Phantom is conducting in the United States later this year and in early 2024.
ELA finance and commercial general manager Russell Shaw said the two companies were “on the right trajectory for a multi-launch contract”.
On the back of that, ELA hopes they will eventually be able to launch a rocket every week as aerospace companies flock to use the Arnhem Space Centre.
“We’re still very hungry for more launches and we’re in discussions with about 25 launch companies around the world and there’s a lot of interest in launching at Gove,” Mr Shaw said.
“We haven’t put a definitive number on it but it would be more than the three launches we did with NASA.
“Phantom will effectively be the first commercial, privately owned launch company out of the United States that’s committing to launch in Australia, which is really good news for the local Australian space industry.”
The Phantom contract will now depend on successful test launches the company is doing later this year and in early 2024.
ELA is using the quiet time since last year’s NASA launches to undertake regulatory and environmental work to secure a 10-fold expansion of the Arnhem Space Centre for increased use.
For ELA and the Arnhem Space Centre to operate at peak capacity, approximately six of the 25 launch companies will need to sign up to launch their rockets at Gove.
Dozens of space companies are testing and refining rockets at various northern-hemisphere locations with the success of these likely to determine whether an anticipated surge in launches takes place as expected in late 2024 and 2025.
“Assuming the testing is successful, the companies will be looking to expand their operations, inclinations and orbits and that’s where ELA comes into its own because it offers a different type of launch site,” Mr Shaw said.
“Because we’re so close to the equator we’re ideal for low inclination launches — you can’t do an equatorial orbit from the likes of the Kennedy Space Centre without burning a lot of fuel in orbit, which isn’t optimal for the satellite.
“Operators can launch higher payloads at Arnhem Space Centre with heavier satellites, and more complex satellites, such as having higher imaging lenses or more fuel on board to allow rockets to orbit longer and have a more useful life in space.”
ELA currently has a workforce of about 20, most of whom are based in Adelaide, but wants to expand to more than 50 over the next five years if it secures more launch contracts.
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Originally published as NT space company targets one launch a week as US contract looms
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