ELA completes Arnhem Space Centre HIF’s engineering design

Equatorial Launch Australia has completed the engineering design process for the Horizontal Integration Facilities (HIF) at its Arnhem Space Centre’s Space Launch Complex (SLC).

These are assembly, integration and testing facilities for each of up to seven rocket launch companies to be based at the Arnhem Space Centre (ASC). The purpose-built buildings, 40m x 26m and 12m high, incorporate advanced space mission specific features providing launch vehicle companies and satellite payload manufacturers with the facilities to ensure their mission success.

“The public release of our completed HIF designs at the Arnhem Space Centre is another major milestone for ELA and we are incredibly excited to be able to share these designs with our current and future customers and with the wider space industry,” said Michael Jones, Executive Chairman and Group CEO, Equatorial Launch Australia. “We are confident that our facilities and services are, and will be, truly world leading, and we are very much looking forward to offering our customers a best-in-class experience from the moment they sign with ELA.”

Each of the seven SLCs are to be set up as restricted access areas providing launch companies secure sole access and commercial confidentiality during their residencies as well as compliance with ITAR (International Trade in Arms Restrictions), MTCR (Missile Technology Control Regime) and TSA (Technology Safeguards Agreement) security requirements.

Each Resident Launcher taking up a long term, multi-launch residency at the Arnhem Space Centre will be allocated exclusive use of an SLC comprised of one standard HIF and up to two launch pads fitted with the recently announced ASCALP launch pads.

The development of these designs follows extensive international research, analysis and customer input, the company says. ELA reviewed past launch successes and challenges and held discussions with other global spaceports and NASA to develop SLCs that exceed capability requirements for customers now and into the future.

The announcement comes on the back of the release of ELA’s ASCALP launch pad designs in December 2023.