NASA just made history.
As the first commercial spaceport launch outside of the United States, the space agency has successfully fired off its first rocket from Australia's remote northern region on Monday, June 27.
(Photo : Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images)
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - MAY 19: In this handout photo provided by NASA, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41 on May 19, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
"Forefront of Global Commercial Space Launch"
The rocket is on a mission to study the Alpha Centauri A and B constellations, which happen to be the closest star systems to our planet Earth. Additionally, the rocket is anticipated to go more than 300 kilometers or 186 miles into space.
For Australia, Alpha Centauri has outstanding value. According to a report from Reuters, it is one of the points of the Southern Cross constellation that is depicted on the nation's flag and is primarily only observable from the Southern Hemisphere.
As the nation's first commercial space flight, Australia also created history on Monday. The subsequent two launches, scheduled for July 4 and July 12, were the first of three launches. According to NASA, they will conduct astrophysical research that is only possible from the Southern Hemisphere.
Executive chief and group CEO of ELA Michael Jones said in a statement with CNN that they were honored to work with such a "supportive, experienced, and professional partner as NASA.
He stated that Monday's launch demonstrated that ELA and Australia can provide space missions and that the event was just their beginning.
He added that it could also place ELA at the "forefront of global commercial space launch."
Read Also: NASA Hubble Space Telescope Witnesses Gravitational Phenomena From Clusters of Bright Galaxies
Off to the Star Systems
Astrophysicist Brad Tucker from Australian National University, said, that there was some uncertainty about whether the launch would take place due to the wind and rain the day before.
However, according to CNN, fanfare erupted after the rocket was launched to space after waiting for more than an hour.
According to Tucker, the purpose of the suborbital missions was to learn more about the star systems and to determine whether any planets that could harbor life were present.
Seventy of its employees have come to Australia for the three missions since NASA is the first customer of the commercial space center run by ELA.
According to NASA, the mission will measure X-rays produced by heated gases that cover the area between stars in order to investigate the formation of galaxies.
The Arnhem Space Center bills itself as the sole multi-user equatorial launch pad in the world that is privately owned and operated.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
