After a long break NASA launches rocket from Australian ground
The first launch from a commercial launch facility outside the United States for NASA
27.Jun.22 5:35 AM
Photo NASA
The US space agency NASA has launched a space rocket from Australia for the first time in 27 years. It was the first of three launches from the Arnhem Space Centre.
After a series of delays caused by rain and wind, the rocket flew into the sky on Sunday to study X-rays emanating from the galaxies Alpha Centauri A and B. When the rocket reached the highest point of 350 kilometers, it began to record data on the galaxies.
The Arnhem Space Centre in the Northern Territory is a facility of the commercial company Equatorial Launch Australia. It is the first launch from a commercial launch facility outside the United States in NASA's history. They were the first NASA rocket launches from Australia since 1995.
The dry Australian landscape and proximity to the equator provide optimal conditions for space launches, said astrophysicist Brad Tucker of the Australian National University, which is located 400 meters from the launch pad at the Arnhem Space Center.
"Near the equator, there are not many places where you can get dry, stable air. Florida, where Cape Canaveral is located, is a kind of swamp," said Tucker, referring to NASA's famous Kennedy Space Center.
The rockets are used to investigate heliophysics, the nature and influence of the sun, and Planetary scientific phenomena. "With the launches, we can explore how the light from a star can affect, among other things, the habitability of a planet," said Nicky Fox of NASA.