Page 36 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2019

SPACE
L AUNCH
Space launch
in Australia
THE NT is only 12 degrees short of the equator, granting rockets a boost of al- most 500 kilometres per hour compared to launches from sites at 45 degrees, whilst the southern edge of Australia places polar orbits in commercial reach. A vast, sparse- ly populated continent makes land com- paratively easy to find, and vast stretches of ocean to the east and south lower the risk posed by jettisoned early stage rock- ets. The country’s well-developed infra- structure and burgeoning space expertise are the icing on the cake.
So why don’t we have a spaceport?
Until recently, direct access to space was the prerogative of governments with large budgets – namely the US, Russia, China, and a European consortium. Now, however, the emerging commercialisation of launch capabilities and the miniaturisation of sat- ellites have allowed relatively small players to join the game.
US company Rocket Lab has built a
spaceport on NZ’s North Island, and the possibility of a similar Australian launch site is now tantalisingly close. Two com- panies are leading the charge – Gilmour Space Technologies, which is looking to achieve low-cost launches from a site in Queensland, and Equatorial Launch Aus- tralia (ELA), which is hoping to build a spaceport near Nhulunbuy in the NT.
“Rockets right now are very expensive, and we have innovative new engine tech-
nology that means we can produce rockets cheaper than anybody else on the planet,” CEO of Gilmour Space, Adam Gilmour, told ADM. “It’s a liquid oxidizer and a solid fuel, in much simpler engines.
“For a small satellite to go to space now, it costs about $50-70,000 per kilo- gram. We’re talking about $30-35,000 per kilogram. We go for simplicity rather than complexity. It’s not a high perfor- mance rocket, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all about cost.”
Gilmour aims to use these simple, cheap rockets to capitalise on the growing small satellite replacement market, which will be used for broadband internet, In- ternet of Things, communications, and other services.
“There’s a forecast for more than 15,000 small satellites to launch in the next five
ABOVE: Rocket Lab's Electron rocket carrying 13 cubesats launches from NZ's North Island.
EWEN LEVICK | SYDNEY
If you’re looking to build a spaceport, Australia is a good place to start. The country is uniquely suited to hosting a launch site.
36 | April 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
TREVOR MAHLMANN