Southern Launch has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US company SpaceWorks Enterprises at the international Space Symposium.
SpaceWorks is an aerospace company that manufactures space transportation systems, including a line of atmospheric Re-Entry Devices (RED) to enable low-cost, autonomous re-entry of payloads from Earth orbit.
The MoU will establish a collaborative relationship between SpaceWorks and Southern Launch to investigate facilitating the return of the SpaceWorks RED vehicles to the Koonibba Test Range.
The Koonibba Test Range, located in South Australia offers over 41,000 square kilometres of uninhabited land to accept the returns of space technology from orbit.
“Over the last 5 years, we have been advancing the requisite technologies for our RED vehicles,” said Dr. John Bradford, CEO of SpaceWorks.
“We are looking forward to working with Southern Launch and Australia as we take another step towards our planned operational capability.”
The Koonibba Test Range is jointly operated by the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation and Southern Launch.
"This MoU with SpaceWorks well and truly showcases to the world that Australia is the place for in-space manufactured technology to return to Earth," said Lloyd Damp, Southern Launch CEO.
"We have the land, the expertise and a regulatory framework that enables us to accept the returns of this ground-breaking technology for our customers."