Ethan Story

6.00 AM

My first alarm goes off signalling I’ve got 10 more minutes of snuggled up bliss before I run to the sanctuary of a nice warm shower.

6.40 AM

I wrap up having my shower and have a quick look at my socials as I’m tying up my boots and getting ready to leave for breakfast.

7.00 AM

After a short walk from my room I catch up with Garry (my colleague) and have some breakfast and a first hit of caffeinated goodness in the Motel eating area whilst catching up on present events by watching some news on the TV.

8.00 AM

After breakfast I headed back to my room and started my workday. As we’re not having a tour of the rocket launch facility until 11.00am I take the opportunity to finish the task I was working on last week (getting various installed Explosive Ordnance (EO) items on C-17 ready for a Configuration Control Board (CCB)) so the rest of my day is free and I’m able to have my mind fully concentrated on the busy day I have ahead.

10.00 AM

I quickly filled up my water-bottle before meeting Garry at the car and heading out on the road towards Koonibba to have a tour of the Southern Launch test range facility. Along the way we were able to spot a couple of planes flying overhead, which made us ponder how the test range manages this risk and if the launches are forced to occur between these flights or if the flights are forced to divert whenever a launch is scheduled. Suffice to say, it was certainly an interesting drive into town!

10.40 AM

We round a corner and are greeted by the front gates of Koonibba. We immediately spot a general store and both decide it was time for a post drive snack refuel (and a sneaky small coffee before the tour). Whilst we were in the store we had a great conversation with the owner about the local community and how excited she was for the launch and stumbled upon some merch from previous launches which the owner pointed out had their amazing emblems designed by the locals, which was wonderful to see!

11.00 AM

We then finished our coffees and headed outside to meet everyone else who would be joining us on the tour. To get to know each other we had a little competition to see who had travelled the furthest to come see the launch. As a Brissy local I ended up tying for first with a fellow long-distance traveller from Hobart and by coincidence I found out that a father and daughter duo also came from Brisbane, but amazingly they drove!

11.30 AM

Still in shock with how long the Brisbane to Koonibba journey must’ve taken Garry and I hopped back into our car and followed everyone else up to the test range headquarters. We were lucky enough to be joined in the car by Howard (the person who originally scouted out the test site) and we were able to learn about the history and topography of the region and how Koonibba’s relationship with Southern Launch came to be.

11.45 AM

After arriving at the test range headquarters we were taken through the facility and had the opportunity to have Lloyd (Southern Launch CEO) take us through the control room (the building to the right in the 1st photo) and explain how each system functioned and to have a chat to Christian & Constantine (Co-Founders of HyImpulse) about their rocket, the chemistry behind its fuel source and to gain insight into the company as a whole (second photo).

12.30 PM

Garry, Howard, and I then all hopped back into the car and followed the convoy down to have some lunch at the launch site. Whilst we were tucking into some lovely sandwiches and desserts (shout out to the Ceduna Yacht Club!) we were able to listen to Jenna (Southern Launch’s Head Launch Platform Engineer) as she talked us through how the launch platform was constructed.  

1.30 PM

After lunch we all set off towards the launch platform and were able to have a look at the HyImpulse rocket and its launching mechanism (as well as giving everyone time to have a quick selfie with the rocket).

2.00 PM

We say our farewells to Koonibba and drive back to our Motel.

3.00 PM

Once back in my room I answer any work emails I missed during the day and took down some notes of things I learnt and saw during my time at the test range.

4.00 PM

I finish up work for the day and have a little rest before heading out to have some drinks with Garry at the local pub and watch the sunset over the Ceduna foreshore before we have some dinner.

10.00 PM

I turn on the heater and get ready to go to bed, dosing off sometime between 10.30 & 11 with a random podcast episode playing on Youtube in the background.

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