International Launch Site Guide
Second Edition
Steven R. Strom
1 Australia
Woomera Rocket Range
• orbital • 31.0 deg south • 136.5 deg east
Overview
The Woomera Rocket Range is one of the world's largest launch sites. Officially known as the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA), the facility covers some 127,000 sq km, which is almost exactly the size of England. Since Woomera's first missile was launched in 1949, the range has played an important role in the history of rocketry. It has been the site of guided weapons testing, space capsule launch and retrieval, sounding rocket tests, satellite launches, and tracking of early spacecraft, including the crewed spacecraft of the American Mercury program.
In broad terms, the establishment of the spaceport in 1947 marked the beginning of a joint Australia–United Kingdom agreement to develop and test guided weapons systems. More specifically, the British needed access to a launch site within the Commonwealth to test-fire the large number of missile systems planned in the postwar era. Several potential locations were identified, and the vast, sparsely populated, flat terrain of the state of South Australia was selected.
Woomera, an Australian aboriginal word meaning "spear thrower," refers not only to the WPA but also to Woomera township, which contains support facilities for the rocket range. The town of Woomera is located in the southeastern corner of the WPA, about 500 km northwest of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. A major facet of the WPA is the primary trials area known as the Woomera Instrumented Range (WIR), located some 40 km from Woomera township. Available launch vehicle sites for customers are located within the WIR.
During the 1950s and 1960s, as the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States and its Western allies intensified, the WPA acquired an increasingly important role in Western defense-related development work. The range served as the launch site for numerous rockets, including Skylark, Black Knight, and Europa. The formation of the European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO) in 1962 was another important factor in the increase of WPA activities, because ELDO member states used the range for a large number of rocket tests for the remainder of the decade. In 1967, Australia achieved the distinction of launching its own satellite into orbit, using an American Redstone rocket as the launch vehicle. During this period, the population of the town of Woomera roughly doubled from approximately 3000 people in 1950 to more than 6000 in the 1960s. Great Britain launched its first satellite, Prospero, from Woomera in 1971, but cutbacks in British defense programs soon reduced the scale of Woomera's launch activities, and the British ceased operations there in 1976. Although rocket testing and launches at the WPA reached a peak in the 1960s, Woomera took on an additional role as support center for the Nurrungar tracking station, established in 1970 to assist the U.S. Defense Support Program (DSP). The Joint Defense Facility Nurrungar, some 20 km from the town of Woomera, was a joint operation of the Australia Defence Forces and the U.S. Air Force Space Command, and its original purpose was to assist the DSP with the detection and tracking of Russian missile launches and nuclear detonations. Operations at Nurrungar provided important assistance during the Persian Gulf War in 1991 but subsequently were gradually phased out and the facility was closed in 1999.
After the 1970s, use of the Woomera range declined, and the last major series of launches was a number of Black Brant sounding rockets launched for NASA in 1995. Today, the population of the WPA numbers only about 1300 permanent residents. Several recent, highly publicized projects to reactivate the range ultimately collapsed, most notably a project proposed by the SpaceLift Australia company to provide launch services for satellite payloads from Woomera. In March 2005, the Kistler Aerospace Corporation announced plans to use the WPA as a launch site for its planned K-1 reusable launch vehicle. Kistler intends to attempt its first launch from the WPA in 2007. Australia signed an agreement with Japan in 2001 to allow the Japanese National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) to launch a series of tests of NAL-developed, rocket-powered experimental planes. The first test of the planned supersonic plane ended disastrously when the test model exploded shortly after liftoff in July 2002. The Australian Space Council has recently considered the construction of new launchpads on the WPA to attract continued use of the range.
Launch Site Description
The WPA is currently administered by the Australian Department of Defence, which allows it to be used for not only military but also approved civil and commercial purposes. The Area Administrator Woomera is in charge of the Defence Support Centre Woomera (DSCW), which has responsibility for WPA management and operations.
In addition to its largely flat, featureless, and vast terrain, which allows easier access for test object recovery and provides an important safety valve for hazardous launch activities, the WPA's desert climate is another positive feature of the range. Rainfall is rare, which results in few overcast days, and the climate is generally warm and dry, with only a brief, generally mild winter. The area's stable climatic conditions virtually assure the ability to conduct year-round operations, with little downtime resulting from poor weather conditions. An important aspect of the WPA's remote location is the ability of the range to enforce strict security when required and to limit overflights by air traffic during launch and test activities. The low population density of the WPA is another range attribute. The Woomera Instrumented Range (WIR), an area of approximately 2000 sq km, includes the WPA's launch vehicle facilities. The WIR is under the jurisdiction of the Aircraft Research and Development Unit of the Royal Australian Air Force. The Woomera Rangehead is located in the southeast portion of the WIR, and its primary facilities include three launch sites for missiles and sounding rockets with launch control facilities, assembly and checkout facilities for flight vehicles, an instrumentation building for managing range activities and safety, and a meteorological shed for the release of weather balloons.
Additional Rangehead facilities and specifications include:
- fully prepared and surveyed sites
- security protection
- rocket motor and explosive ordnance storage facilities
- helicopter landing pad and small airfield
- optical instrumentation
- tracking data system
- local WIR communications system
- meteorological facilities
- large launch vehicle and payload test shop/assembly facilities
- hardware recovery facilities
The three operational launch areas currently located within the WIR are referred to as LA1, LA2, and LA9. LA1, recently refurbished, now contains a Japanese-owned launcher. LA2 has two sounding rocket launchers and has been the Rangehead's principal launch site for many years. LA9 also serves as a site for launching sounding rockets.
The WPA also includes the Lake Hart Air Weapons Range (LHAWR) on the northern shore of Lake Hart, a dry salt lake. This range is used for the release of live munitions drops from aircraft and ground-based missile and artillery firings. The LHAWR also contains the former launch areas LA6a and LA6b, originally constructed for Blue Streak missile tests. Two large, deep concrete launch pedestals remain here and have the potential to be refurbished and made operational for large-launch-vehicle programs.
Payload Accommodations and Support Facilities
Payloads and launch vehicles can be transported to Woomera township using air, rail, or road transport. Port facilities are available at Adelaide, which is connected to Woomera by highway. Transport from Woomera to the launching area (WIR) is by road. Test shop integration and assembly facilities are available at Woomera township or the Rangehead.
Only eight km from the town of Woomera, a large airport with a 2375 m runway is available for use by both civil and military airplanes. It can handle large freight aircraft, including the Lockheed C-5A and the Boeing 747, and can also support aircraft that specialize in the air launch of space launch vehicles. The airport also has three large hangars with some 9000 sq m of space.
The town of Woomera offers full facilities and services in support of range activities, including accommodations for personnel utilizing the WPA, recreational facilities, medical care, and communications services.
Acronyms
| DSCW | Defence Support Center Woomera |
| DSP | Defense Support Program (U.S.A.) |
| ELDO | European Launcher Development Organization |
| LHAWR | Lake Hart Air Weapons Range |
| NAL | National Aerospace Laboratory (Japan) |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.A.) |
| WIR | Woomera Instrumented Range |
| WPA | Woomera Prohibited Area |
Points of Contact
Area Administrator
Woomera Defence Support Centre Woomera
Dewrang Avenue
Woomera, South Australia 5720
Australia
Voice: +61 8
8674 3201
Fax:+61 8 8674 3308
E-mail: aaw@dfence.gov.au
Commander ARDU
Aircraft Research and
Development Unit
RAAF Base Edinburgh
Edinburgh, South Australia 5111
Australia
Voice: +61 8 8393 2111
Fax: +61 8 8393 2498
Space Policy Unit
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
P.O. Box 9839
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 260
Australia
Voice: +61 6 213
7246
Fax: +61 6 213 7249
Telex: AA62654
E-mail: egrohovaz@isr.gov.au
References
- "Australia in Space," AeroSpaceGuide.net, 2005, (http://www.aerospaceguide.net/worldspace/australia_in_space.html) (17 January 2005).
- BAE Systems and Department of Defence (Australia), "Range," Woomera South Australia, (http://www.woomerasa.com.au/PAGE.CFM/DC5AF086-9921-4C67BAF1-D439657F9BFC) (17 January 2005).
- Defence South Australia, (http://www.defence-sa.com/html/infrastructure/woomera.htm) (17 January 2005)
- Flinders Ranges Research, (http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/woomera.htm) (inactive).
- M. King, ed., The Lowdown: Australian Space Development in Focus, (http://www.lowdown.com.au/) (1 March 2005).
- P. Morton, Fire Across the Desert: Woomera and the Anglo-Australian Joint Project, 1946–1980 (Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1989).
- M. T. Rigby, Woomera on the Web, 2005, (http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~woomera/) (17 January 2005).
- M. Wade, ed., "Woomera," Encyclopedia Astronautica, 2003, (http://www.astronautix.com/sites/woomera.htm) (17 January 2005).
