Upper Atmospheric Research at Woomera: the Australian Sounding Rockets

Paper number

IAC-05-E4.3.03

Author

Ms. Kerrie Dougherty, Power House Museum, Australia

Year

2005

Abstract

Sounding rocket programs for upper atmospheric research commenced at Woomera in 1956, with British and Australian scientific instruments being launched on the British Skylark rocket. Shortly afterwards, the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) inaugurated its own UAR program with the first Australian-built sounding rocket, Long Tom, developed from surplus British motors. This research would eventually lead to the development of Australia’s first satellite Wresat, launched in 1967. 

Long Tom became the first more than 10 Australian designed and built sounding rockets that would be employed at Woomera until the demise of the WRE upper atmosphere program in 1975, as the Range was winding down to the cessation of the Anglo-Australian Joint Project. Like Long Tom, most of the early Australian sounding rockets were constructed by the WRE from surplus British motors, but from 1968 the later vehicles were purely local projects, based on rocket motors designed and built in Australia. These new motors were named after constellations of the southern sky, while the rockets themselves bore the names of Australian native birds.

This paper will outline the technical and scientific history of the Australian sounding rocket program, examining its origins and the reasons for its demise. It will look at the sequential development of the various Australian rockets and provide technical details of their design and characteristics. It will consider the particular research projects with which they were associated, the relationship with the Wresat project and the move to “all-Australian production” in 1968. 

Abstract document

IAC-05-E4.3.03.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-05-E4.3.03.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.