NASA has launched a space rocket from Australia for the first time in 27 years. After a series of rain and wind delays, the rocket flew into the sky on Sunday to study X-rays from the galaxies Alpha Centauri A and B. Once the rocket reached its highest point of 350 kilometers, it began recording data on the galaxies.
Sunday’s launch was the first of three launches from the Arnhem Space Center in the Northern Territory, a facility of the commercial company Equatorial Launch Australia. The next two launches are on July 4 and 12. These are the first launches from a commercial launch facility outside the United States in NASA history. They were also the first NASA rocket launches from Australia since 1995.
Optimal conditions
Australia’s arid landscape and proximity to the equator provide optimal conditions for space launches, said astrophysicist Brad Tucker of the Australian National University, who is located 400 meters from the launch pad at the Arnhem Space Center. “There are not many places near the equator where you can get dry, stable air. Florida, where Cape Canaveral is located, is like a swamp,” Tucker said, referring to NASA’s famous Kennedy Space Center.
heliophysics
The rockets are used to investigate heliophysics, the nature and influence of the sun, and planetary scientific phenomena. “The launches will allow us to explore how star light can affect a planet’s habitability, among other things,” said NASA’s Nicky Fox.
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