About us

Southern Launch is a launch and range service provider, headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia. We own and operate Australia’s only rocket launch ranges approved by the Australian Space Agency for launches to space.

Our offering includes the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex, and the Koonibba Test Range, our suborbital testing facility.

Our strategic pillars

Launch

As the evolution of technology continues, launch performs the key role in sending satellites into space. Without space launch, there is no GPS, no broadband internet, and no effective way to monitor the environment or handle emergency situations. Space technologies are also critical for national security.

Southern Launch’s unique offering relates to all elements of launch including operating two spaceports, designing and developing avionics and consulting on launch hardware.

The Whalers Way Launch Complex offers the opportunity to establish the final and critical step in an integrated South Australian space supply chain from satellite design and manufacturing, orbital launch and operation in space.

The state is already home to many of the innovative companies developing the physical hardware and digital technology driving this space industry revolution. The Whalers Way development allows yet more of the supply chain to remain here in SA, while acting as an anchor and catalyst for further innovation and industrial growth in support of the sector. This is a critical moment for Space SA. Lose the anchor and segments of the industry drift away, interstate and overseas.

For the international market, this vertically integrated space supply chain represents a hugely attractive option for actors needing to get payloads into orbit quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. For South Australia, this represents a chance to create a resilient export economy, which also serves as a driver for a high-skilled, high-productivity migrant workforce.

Globally, orbital launch facilities are proven to deliver a net-benefit for local biodiversity. Sites are usually located in areas where local native flora and fauna were previously neither protected nor managed or on sites that were previously degraded. Through the restoration of local ecosystems and the implementation of environmental management plans, orbital launch facilities can have a symbiotic relationship with the local ecosystem.

This trend will be continued at our Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex. The site is currently not in optimal condition, with parts of the land suffering from significant hard waste pollution. Overall, the site has not been maintained or protected and has never benefitted from an environmental management plan or investment, which has impacted native vegetation and wildlife.

Southern Launch has a comprehensive biodiversity strategy to generate a net environmental benefit for the site. This strategy includes removing decades’ worth of dumped rubbish, sponsoring research to contribute to the body of knowledge on the lower Eyre Peninsula’s flora and fauna and implementing a pest plant as well as feral animal eradication program. Southern Launch will also be reintroducing native vegetation and working to entice local raptors to once again nest along the coastline.  

Overall – the company has an investment plan to transform a site previously not covered by any environmental management and regeneration plans.

Land

Leadership

Southern Launch has been at the forefront of fostering a full-spectrum, strategic, sovereign and globally engaged space sector here in Australia. We believe Australia is ideally placed to be the leading global hub for launch operations and to play an innovative and significant role in shaping the future global space economy. We remain committed to pursuing the strategic objectives for the space industry as set out by the Federal Government, Government of South Australia and the Australian Space Agency.

Southern Launch has made several contributions to public discourse and Government-led consultations on the future of the Australian space sector. We have developed an ambitious advocacy agenda that encompasses:

  • Reforming Australia’s State and Federal legislative frameworks related to space launch,

  • Contributing to policy debate to unlock Australia’s full potential to become the leading global hub for launch operations; and

  • Educating the next generation of Australian space leaders and policymakers to enhance capacity and ensure the longevity of the Australian space sector.

We are passionate about supporting and guiding the next generation of the space industry. We are contributing to the Australian STEM education landscape by,

  • Visiting local schools within South Australia and promoting the importance of STEM education,

  • Consulting with South Australian educators on Space education programs aligned to the Australian Curriculum,

  • Promoting the skills and expertise of our own staff and recognising their contributions to the industry; and

  • Pushing the boundaries of rocket engineering by producing nationally and internally recognised thesis papers that explore modern design requirements for small/private rocket launch facilities.

  • Making all our research and development into the ecology of our launch sites in Australia available for peer review to contribute to a better understanding of Australia’s unique flora and fauna