The Koonibba Test Range is a rocket test range near the town of

Koonibba Koonibba is a locality and an associated Aboriginal community in South Australia located about northwest of the state capital of Adelaide and about northwest of the municipal seat in Ceduna and north of the Eyre Highway. The settlement ...

in the far west of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. Rockets are launched to the north, with a range of over the

Yumbarra Conservation Park Yumbarra Conservation Park, formerly the Yumbarra National Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about north of the town centre of Ceduna. To the north it borders Yellabinna Regional Reserve; to the eas ...

and

Yellabinna Wilderness Protection Area Yellabinna Wilderness Protection Area is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted locality of Yellabinna about north of the town of Ceduna. The wilderness protection area was proclaimed under the ...

. Koonibba Test Range was reported in 2020 to be the world's largest privately owned rocket test range and the world's first permitted by an indigenous community to be launched from their land. The range allows companies, universities,

space agencies This is a list of government agencies engaged in activities related to outer space and space exploration. As of 2022, 77 different government space agencies are in existence, 16 of which have launch capabilities. Six government space agencies ...

and other organisations to pay for their rockets to be taken to the site, launched, and rockets and payloads to be recovered.

History

In 2019 and 2020, a private space company,

Southern Launch Southern Launch (incorporated as SouthernLaunch.space Pty Ltd) is an Australian space company providing infrastructure and logistics support for orbital and sub-orbital launches of satellites and space payloads. Facilities Southern Launch is ...

, consulted with the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation before developing the test range site, which occupies of uninhabited conservation park about north-west of

Ceduna Ceduna may refer to: *Ceduna, South Australia, a town and locality *Ceduna Airport Ceduna Airport is a public airport in Ceduna, South Australia. The airport, which is owned by the District Council of Ceduna is located adjacent to the Eyre ...

. It is to be used for space research and launching and recovering rockets. The advantage of the site is that the land on which the rockets may be recovered is vast. Members of the local community have been employed to set up and operate the range. DEWC Systems, an

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

-based company, conducted two launches at the range in September 2020. A rocket containing a small replica

payload Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...

was scheduled to be launched on 15 September 2020, with a second launch on 19 September. The first launch failed, but both launches were successful on the morning of 19 September 2020. It was aimed at collecting information to develop a new technology consisting of tiny cube-shaped

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

s, known as

cubesat A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...

s, for

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

. The training and employment opportunities were welcomed by the community. Southern Launch's Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex, at the tip of the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...

, was planned before Koonibba, but was under construction.

References

Rocket launch sites Eyre Peninsula {{Rocketry-stub