ROOM
99
Space Lounge
While
Australia is
not considered
a significant
spacefaring
nation, it has a
long history of
space activities
stretching
back to the
beginnings of
the Space Age
the early 1960s to Island Lagoon, about 25 km south
of Woomera, where NASA established an early deep
space tracking station in 1960.
This station played an important role in the early
exploration of the Moon, Mars and Venus, as well as
the Apollo programme, before being closed in 1972.
A spaceflight tracking station used for the Mercury,
Gemini programmes and early Apollo Saturn rocket
tests was also established on the Range, operating
from 1960-66.
Located not far from Island Lagoon, the Joint
Defence Facility Nurrungar was operated by
the United States Air Force and the Australian
Department of Defence from 1969 to 1999. Its role
was space-based surveillance, especially the early
detection of missile launches and nuclear tests
using US Defence Support Program geostationary
satellites.
Today, the Woomera Range Complex (as it is now
known) is a busy weapons test facility with little
direct involvement in space activities, although
a refurbished sounding rocket launch facility is
maintained and available for research use.
The Range has been designated as a National
Engineering Landmark by Engineers Australia and as
a Historic Aerospace Site by the American Institute
of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but access to the
former space facilities is extremely restricted, as
is the abandoned Nurrungar complex, although its
remaining radome can be seen from the highway
shortly before the turnoff to Woomera itself.
The Island Lagoon tracking station site (of which,
sadly, little remains apart from a few concrete
footings) is also no longer accessible without prior
permission from the manager of Arcoona station
(ranch) on which it is situated.
However, the Woomera Village, originally built to
house the staff working on the rocket range, is open
to tourists and is well worth a visit for the serious
space history buff. The Woomera Heritage Centre,
in the heart of the village, provides an excellent
exhibition that presents the history of the range
from its establishment in the aftermath of World War
2 until the early 2000s.
Its collection of historic artefacts is complemented
by the nearby rocket park and Woomera History
Museum. The Woomera Rocket Park has a large
outdoor display of original (or reconstructed-from-
available-parts) missiles, weapons, rockets and
aircraft used or tested at Woomera.
Space-related highlights include Black Arrow
and Black Knight rockets, a Skylark sounding
rocket, a variety of Australian sounding rockets
and a Jabiru hypersonic research rocket. Of
particular interest are the remains of the Redstone
rocket used to launch the WRESAT satellite and
those of the ELDO Europa F-4 vehicle. Recovered
from their original desert impact locations by
heritage-minded Woomera personnel in 1989 and
1994, these rocket relics are laid out on beds of
desert sand inside protective cages. A recovered
Rolls Royce RZ2 engine from the F-4 vehicle is also
on display.
Housed in what was originally St Barbara’s
Anglican Church, the Woomera History Museum
serves as the repository of heritage material -
artefacts, photos, archives, memorabilia and other
items - that could not be accommodated in the main
Heritage Centre display. While the presentation is
rather haphazard, if you have a strong interest in the
history of Woomera you will find hours of fascination
browsing through the photographic collections
and the bound copies of the Gibber Gabber, the
Woomera newspaper.
Located in the ‘Outback’ about 480 km from
Adelaide, Woomera is about a six-hour drive on good
sealed roads, with a car being the only convenient
way to get there (although it is also possible to fly
into the town of Roxby Downs, and hire a car to drive
the 100 km to Woomera).
Be prepared to see kangaroos, emus and other
native wildlife as you travel north from Port
Augusta. Accommodation at Woomera is limited to
the Woomera Travellers’ Village and Caravan Park
(
com/p/accommodation-at-
woomera.html) and the ELDO Hotel.
As its name suggests, the ELDO was originally
the hostel and recreation facility established for
personnel working on the ELDO project. Guests
stay in refurbished and modernised accommodation
blocks bearing the names of major rocket and missile
programmes conducted at Woomera.
Further information and accommodation bookings
are available via:
. As
Part of the Woomera
rocket park, showing a
Skylark rocket and the
Black Arrow
reconstruction in the
background.
K. Dougherty
