TRANSCRIPT
Koonibba is an Aboriginal community in South Australia, situated northwest of Ceduna on the west coast of the state's Eyre Peninsula.
It's home to a permanent test range for the Australian space industry and it's just seen the successful launch of a rocket that's not about sending people on interstellar missions, but to find more sustainable and eco-friendly ways of space travel.
Christian Schmierer is the CEO of German company Hyimpulse, which is responsible for creating the rocket.
He says it's powered by candle wax and liquid oxygen in a test for alternative options to rocket fuel.
"It has a paraffin fuel inside, so this is candle wax basically. This is really a novelty globally, and so that's also the reason why we're really excited about the result of the flight. It's really an experiment."
Candle wax and liquid oxygen are new forms of energy which are being used more often in recent years.
The energy stems from the reaction between the vaporised molecules of the burned candle with the oxygen.
Lloyd Damp is the Chief Executive of Southern Launch, a private space company.
He's told Sky News these alternative fuels represent an interesting and exciting area of research.
"So this is a brand new type of rocket called a hybrid rocket. And this will also be the first time that a hybrid rocket has ever launched from Australia. Hybrid rockets are very safe and they are hopefully going to be used for future space launch vehicles."
The SR75-1 rocket is expected to be used for micro-gravity research, telescope missions and technology demonstrations, with minimal environmental impact.
Mr Schmierer says the rocket is expected to be even more environmentally efficient in upcoming launches.
"There cannot be a spill of the fuel because it's solid. So even if there's a problem, then we can just gather the remains of the fuel. Also in the future it will be carbon neutral, because the paraffin fuel we can produce with renewable energies, so we're working already on that with partner companies."
The test site is jointly operated by Southern Launch and the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation.
Southern Launch's Lloyd Damp says the launch of the hybrid rocket was the result of difficult and time-consuming efforts.
"We've spent many, many years looking at the safety and working with the Australian Space Agency to get to this point. So a very exciting day for us and I hope for all of Australia."
Geraldine Ware is the Chair of the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation.
She says community leaders believe the generation of new job opportunities has been an important part of this partnership.
"We have grader drivers who have been grading the roads, and water truck drivers to settle the dust. So yeah, there have been jobs provided."
Students from local schools were invited to visit the site in the lead-up to this launch, in the hope of inspiring the next generation of eco-friendly space explorers.
Ms Ware says the children were enthusiastic about what they saw.
"Kids are talking about the rockets now and how they would like to be rocket scientists one day. So that's great, hearing it from the young ones now. So I'm glad this is going to happen and for them to further educate themselves on being a scientist."
The South Australian government is also enthusiastic about the Koonibba test site.
In a statement, Deputy Premier Susan Close said having permanent facilities there marked a pivotal moment for South Australia's space industry.
