The future of a proposed rocket-launch facility in South Australia is uncertain. But tensions between space exploration and conservation remain.
Articles on Rocket launch
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NASA has several contracts with Blue Origin as part of its Artemis program – this setback for the company could delay the program.
Even without recovering New Glenn’s reusable booster, Blue Origin has joined the ranks of commercial companies with rockets able to launch into orbit.
The Starliner launched June 5 after several delays, making it the first commercial crew craft that’s not SpaceX’s Dragon to lift off.
The launch of a new rocket is always an exciting event. SpaceX’s ‘go fast and fail’ approach means that even though the test ended with engineers blowing up the rocket, it was a valuable first flight.
Rocket emissions in the upper atmosphere can damage the ozone layer but are neither measured nor regulated. It’s a policy gap we have to close if the space industry is to grow sustainably.
The UK space launch failed but it succeeded in releasing hazardous pollutants to multiple layers of the atmosphere.
Artemis I launch has been ‘scrubbed’ a couple of times now. Why is a launch window so important, and what does scrubbing mean, anyway?
Why is humanity going back to the Moon after 50 years? Because we can, and we should.
As far as we know, only one person has ever been directly struck by space debris. That was back in 1997.
Australia may soon have three commercial space launch facilities
Expanding the low-Earth orbit economy through increased commercial spaceflight will only push our planet further into its climate crisis.
The rocket engines that lauched Apollo 11 towards the moon had 5,600 parts each. 3D-printed equivalents have just 40.
Chances are small that space junk will destroy property or harm a person, and existing space law could deal with such an event. But current law doesn’t address the bigger problem of space pollution.
Ten small satellites were launched from 11km above Earth’s surface.
About 770 Australian entities are already developing space-related infrastructure, most of which are privately owned.
An equation from the 1890s can help us work out how high Hughes can actually reach with his homemade rocket.
This are looking up when it comes to launching things into space from Australia. The rules on what can be launched are currently under review and open for comment.
We’ve launched rockets from Woomera in South Australia, but in reality Australia could support multiple launch sites. And the closer to the equator, typically the better.
Proposed changes to Australia’s space activities legislation do little to inspire confidence in the government’s approach to a commercial space industry.
Top contributors
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Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University
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Professor, Adelaide University
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Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality, UCL
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Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research (Interim), Curtin University
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Chief Executive Officer, Australasian Centre for Space Governance; Associate Expert, National Security College, Australian National University
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Associate Professor - Physics, RMIT University
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Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University
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Assistant Professor of Space and Society, Arizona State University
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Researcher, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences Te Kura Matū, University of Canterbury
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PhD, Space Engineering, University of Surrey
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Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Canterbury
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Associate Professor in Planetary Astronomy, University of Canterbury
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Researcher in the School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester
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Associate professor, University of Southern Queensland
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Professor, Conservation Biology, The University of Queensland