The rocket took off last Monday at midnight local time from the Arnhem Space Center on the Dhupuma Plateau near Nhulunbuy Township, according to Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA), the center’s developer, owner and operator. .
The rocket is expected to travel more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) in space on its mission to observe the constellations Alpha Centauri A and B, the closest star systems to Earth.
Alpha Centauri has a special meaning for Australia. Most are only visible from the southern hemisphere and are one of the “indicators” of the South Cross constellation that appears on the country’s flag, according to Reuters.
Monday’s event also made history for Australia as the country’s first commercial space launch. It was the first of three releases, with two more scheduled for July 4th and 12th. These will conduct astrophysical studies that can only be done from the southern hemisphere, according to NASA.
Michael Jones, executive chairman and CEO of the ELA group, said it was a historic night.
“We could never have dreamed of having such a supportive, experienced and professional partner as NASA. They have been incredibly generous in helping us on this journey and we will be a much better organization for their support,” Jones said in a statement.
“Today’s launch not only puts ELA at the forefront of the global commercial space launch, but also confirms that we and Australia can provide access to space and this is just the beginning for us,” he added.
Australian National University astrophysicist Brad Tucker, who was on site to watch the launch, said the wind and rain had previously caused some nervousness about whether to move forward.
But after a delay of more than an hour, excitement erupted when the rocket took off.
“At that final moment, almost everyone ran outside to watch the launch and look on in admiration. Even after we lost sight of the rocket, people stayed out for a long time,” Tucker said.
Tucker said the suborbital missions were aimed at better understanding stellar systems and whether there were any habitable planets.
NASA is the first client of the commercial spaceport operated by ELA and 70 of its staff have traveled to Australia for all three missions.
The U.S. space agency said the mission will study the evolution of galaxies by measuring the X-rays produced by the hot gases that fill the space between the stars.
The Arnhem Space Center is described as the only commercially owned and managed multi-user equatorial launch site in the world.