Aerospace company Southern Launch has confirmed it is seeking an extension of time to carry out test rocket launches from its site near Port Lincoln on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.
Key points:
- Southern Launch wants to carry out more test rocket launches near Port Lincoln this year
- It has asked for an extension of its launch window
- The company had planned three test launches for last year, but ran out of time
Southern Launch had approval to conduct three test launches by the end of last year, but its first attempt in September failed when the rocket caught fire.
CEO Lloyd Damp said the company was negotiating for an extension of the launch window to the end of 2022.
“We’ve subsequently been working with the state government, providing information on [whether we will] change anything with what we’re proposing to do — the answer is no, it is the same proposal, we are just looking for more time,” Mr Damp said.
He said there were two separate applications involved with the extension.
“The first one is to extend the use of the concrete pad for rocket launches, that’s with the state government, and the other one is to use the concrete pad to actually undertake a rocket launch — that’s with the Australian Space Agency,” he said.
“[For the first launch last year] we went through one particular launch licensing process with the Australian Space Agency, and we decided with the second and third launches to test out a different section of the Space Act — to do what’s called a series of launches.
Mr Damp was not expecting the upcoming state election and the government’s move into caretaker mode to cause delays.
The proposal for test launches has been the focus of protests from community members who fear it will have environmental consequences for the pristine coastal environment.
Southern Launch is eventually hoping to construct a permanent launch site at Whalers Way to launch satellites into space.
