Sirius Space Services to launch from Arnhem Space Centre from 2026

South Australian-headquartered Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA) has signed a deal with leading French rocket company Sirius Space Services to launch orbital rockets from Australia’s Arnhem Space Centre, starting in 2026.

The multi-year, multi-launch contract, announced at World Space Business Week in Paris, will see Sirius become a resident launcher at the East Arnhem Land spaceport, taking up its own Space Launch Complex.

Under the agreement, Sirius will take advantage of ELA’s full suite of launch and mission support services and facilities, highlighting the company’s launch capabilities at the site, which includes access to a range of orbits, including medium and low inclination orbits, SSO and equatorial.

ELA’s Group CEO Michael Jones welcomed the collaboration as a testament to the local company’s leading advanced engineering and technology solutions and flexible launch services.

“Sirius will become the second resident launcher at the Arnhem Space Centre which means they will leverage ELA’s advanced commercial spaceport concept,” Jones said.

“They will take advantage of our comprehensive suite of launch solutions, innovative commercial offering and the best customer service and support to increase efficiency, safety, mission assuredness and commercial benefit to Sirius.

“It was key for Sirius to have the ability to access unique orbit options to service their clients and we are probably the only place on the planet that could provide access to these orbits, the support level required, and access to the scope of launch services in the timeframe required.”

Sirius Space Services Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer François Maroquene-Froissart said ELA’s commitment to safety, operational excellence and service aligns with the company’s mission to deliver agile and competitive launch solutions for its global customers.

“Our decision to select ELA was driven by their advanced commercial spaceport concept, which includes state-of-the-art infrastructure, innovative commercial offerings, and exceptional customer service and support,” he said.

The first campaign will kick-off with the development and test flights of SIRIUS 1 in 2026, followed by launches of the larger SIRIUS 13 in 2027. Sirius has an innovative approach to rocket engine design which comprises metal additive manufacturing / 3D printing using copper and nickel-chromium superalloys. Its STAR-1 engine is fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane, producing 55kN of thrust.

Sirius, whose planned launch cadence could scale up over time to 18 launches per year, develops launch solutions designed to meet the growing needs of the commercial space market.

“It was key for Sirius to have the ability to access unique orbit options to service their clients and we are probably the only place on the planet that could provide access to these orbits, the support level required, and access to the scope of launch services in the timeframe required,” said Jones.

Sirius has selected Space Launch Complex No.3 (SLC3) or ‘Le Mans’ for their home base. The Le Mans SLC will have a dedicated 45m x 26m x 12m high Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) with ISO 8 vertical payload integration clean room with its own full span, 20T gantry crane. Le Mans SLC also has two ASC Advanced Launch Pads (ASCALP^TM) where one will be fully developed with the ability to accommodate Sirius’ three variants of rocket, SIRIUS 1, SIRIUS 13 and, in future, the large 4 booster SIRIUS 15 variant. The other launch pad will be part-developed as a back-up.