Virgin Orbit's decision to choose a regional Queensland airport as its third satellite launch site could help Richard Branson's company solidify its position in the billionaire space race, an expert says.
The company has signed an agreement with the Queensland-based Wagner Corporation to certify the Wellcamp Airport near Toowoomba as a national spaceport.
Virgin Orbit plans to launch rockets into space from Boeing 747 aircraft as early as 2024.
University of Southern Queensland astrophysicist Jonti Horner said the deal could work in Virgin Orbit's favour regarding its rivalry with nearest competitor Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
"I think it's a pretty savvy move by Virgin Orbit … it's giving them capacity to reach a variety of different orbits, and to be doing things all around the world," he said.
"To some degree, Virgin and Blue Origin have been jockeying for second place.
"They're not achieving the great success SpaceX has — SpaceX got a march on this."
He said the move showed that interest in Australia's space industry was growing.
"Not only do we have the expertise, but we are in the right place geographically."
The launch site at Wellcamp is ideal for satellite launches and its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, where the rockets are deployed.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the agreement was a major boost for Queensland.
"My government is committed to working with both companies in their bid to certify Wellcamp Airport as a national spaceport for the orbital launch demonstration," she said.
"The collaboration agreement … is the culmination of 12 months of hard work behind the scenes."
FIFO gimmick?
However, Adam Gilmour, the chief executive of Gold Coast-based company Gilmour Space Technologies, said the announcement was a marketing gimmick.
He said governments should be supporting local industry instead of international companies.
"All they're really doing is shipping it over here, putting it under the wing, taking off, going over the Pacific and launching it," Mr Gilmour said.
"We're really creating an industry in Australia and not just doing a bit of a fly-in, fly-out."
But Professor Horner said Virgin Orbit's decision would make Toowoomba internationally recognised.
"I only learned about Toowoomba after I moved to Australia from the UK," he said.
"This is the kind of thing that is going to bring Toowoomba and south-east Queensland to people's attention all across the world."
Virgin Orbit said it would now begin discussions with the Australian Space Agency on the licensing requirements for the Toowoomba facility.
Wagner Corporation will also carry out further research to see what infrastructure could be sourced locally, while Virgin will explore optimal flight paths from Toowoomba for the aircraft and satellites.
