The American space agency, NASA, will launch three rockets within weeks from northern Australia for scientific research purposes. This marks the first time NASA will launch rockets from a commercial facility outside the United States. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that the Australian government has granted regulatory approval for the rockets to be launched from the Arnhem Space Center, owned by Equatorial Launch Australia, a private company.
During a press conference in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, Albanese stated, "This is really an exciting project... the idea of NASA being directly involved here in Australia should be a source of pride for all Australians."
NASA missions will conduct research in solar physics, astrophysics, and planetary science phenomena that can only be observed from the southern hemisphere. The first rocket is set to launch on June 26, followed by the launch of the two other rockets on July 4 and July 12.
The Prime Minister mentioned that around 75 NASA officials will come to Australia for this event, and these launches will be the first for the American space agency from Australia since 1995. The Arnhem Space Center recently obtained a launch facility license and a launch permit for NASA’s campaign after a two-year evaluation.
