Australia’s first commercial rocket launch is ready for take off at 11.45am tomorrow morning, Wednesday, November 21, from a property at Westmar, one hour north-west of Goondiwindi.
Black Sky Aerospace founder Blake Nikolic, a Mundoolun dad, spent the day there with his crew setting up ahead of launch. He posted these snaps from the set up back.
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“It is very exciting for us at Black Sky Aerospace,” he said.
“We are very confident in our team and extremely proud of what we have already achieved. This launch opens up a door for Australia to get deeply involved in the development of space technology.”
Working out of a couple of industrial sheds built on the rural property he calls home, Mr Nikolic and his crew have developed and built a Sighter190 research rocket. It will be the first in Australia to carry a commercial payload to Low Earth Orbit.
Black Sky Aerospace has had a successful test launch.
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The test paves the way for space technology to collect data for industries like mining, farming and communications. It carries packages for Hypersonix, the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research and Dekunu Technologies.
One – a carbon composite panel with embedded senors – will measure temperature during flight.
Space is a $3-4 billion a year industry in Australia that employs about 10,000 people. The state government is running a parliamentary inquiry into regional Queensland’s ability to contribute to the setting up of a space industry.
Jimboomba loves a rocket launch. Queensland Rocketry Society hosts Flames, Smoke & Noise at nearby Cedar Creek each year.
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Mr Nikolic is taking the city with him on his journey with the City of Logan logo is emblazoned on the rocket.
Logan image and innovation chair Councillor Laurie Smith said Logan was proud to support the incredible achievement of Black Sky Aerospace.
Cr Smith said the council’s economic development and strategy officers attended the Australian Space Research Conference on the Gold Coast in September where it became apparent that the Australian space industry was going through a renaissance and Logan was poised to lead the way.
“Many of the jobs of the future will be developed in the multi-billion dollar space industry and it is very exciting that a company from Jimboomba is at the forefront of this technology,” he said.
