Southern Launch continues to expand capabilities at Koonibba Test Range with the support of the Koonibba Aboriginal community
Members of the Southern Launch team with Koonibba community members
Southern Launch has continued to expand on the capabilities of the Koonibba Test Range by undertaking another launch campaign to test new technology and systems.
The launch window opened on 29 August 2022 and once again the local Koonibba Aboriginal community were involved in the ground operations of the launch campaign. The Koonibba community provided traffic management support, onsite security, catering for the launch crew, the lease of on-range equipment, and local artist Kevina Ware designed the mission patch.
Koonibba CEO Corey McLennan says, ‘Working with Southern Launch in Koonibba is tremendous for our community. We benefit through employment opportunities and investment. Most importantly, our children and young people are inspired by the world of opportunities available to them when space is right on our doorstep.’
Lloyd Damp, Southern Launch CEO says ‘Southern Launch has invested heavily in our people and equipment to ensure we can offer our customers world-class launch services. This latest launch campaign is another step in our journey to launching orbital rockets from South Australia. Our team has tested new range equipment and gained great experience and knowledge from this latest mission that we’ll apply to the upcoming launches from the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex.’
The T-Minus Engineering DART rocket suffered an anomaly during lift off and did not reach the expected speed or altitude. Following an investigation into the fault it was decided to not attempt a launch of a second vehicle.
Southern Launch CEO Lloyd Damp said, ‘Our customer’s rocket suffered a small anomaly following the ignition sequence and did not take off as expected. Southern Launch staff enacted their training and responded to the situation in a safe and rapid manner. We thank the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation and the wider Koonibba and Ceduna communities for their ongoing support of the Koonibba Test Range.’
