NASA completes suborbital launch from commercial spaceport in Australia
Early this morning NASA successfully completed its first rocket launch from Australia since 1995, launching a suborbital payload from a new commercial spaceport on the northern coast of Australia.
The rocket is Nasa’s first of three to blast off from the newly constructed Arnhem Space Centre on the edge of the Northern Territory. Scientists hope it will help them study the impact of a star’s light on the habitability of nearby planets.
Onlookers who travelled to the remote site glimpsed the rocket for only about 10 seconds before it shot out of view.
After a short fifteen minute flight the sounding rocket and payload were recovered. The next suborbital launch is scheduled for July 4th.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Early this morning NASA successfully completed its first rocket launch from Australia since 1995, launching a suborbital payload from a new commercial spaceport on the northern coast of Australia.
The rocket is Nasa’s first of three to blast off from the newly constructed Arnhem Space Centre on the edge of the Northern Territory. Scientists hope it will help them study the impact of a star’s light on the habitability of nearby planets.
Onlookers who travelled to the remote site glimpsed the rocket for only about 10 seconds before it shot out of view.
After a short fifteen minute flight the sounding rocket and payload were recovered. The next suborbital launch is scheduled for July 4th.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Is there a US law that says American commercial launch providers can only launch from the US? Would this NASA launch from Australia relax that rule/law? I am thinking about SpaceX being both being delayed by US environmental regulations and also required to launch from a space port in the US. If NASA can launch from Australia, would SpaceX be allowed to setup a space port in that country also?
Steve Richter: There is no law that forbids American companies from launching in other countries, but there are laws that forbid launches from some specific countries (such as China), and other regulations that put serious restrictions on how the technology is brought to the countries that are permitted. These restrictions are related to preventing technology transfers to nations that might not be our friends.
Virgin Orbit has deals with multiple countries to launch from their airports. It plans a UK launch this summer, and just signed a deal with Brazil. Rocket Lab, a U.S. company, has so far done ALL its launches from New Zealand.
So yes, SpaceX could set up a launch facility in another country. This would not however eliminate the company from U.S. regulation. Not in the slightest.