WASHINGTON: NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in a surprise move picks Australian location for world-first rocket launch. The world’s biggest space agency, NASA, has signed a world-first deal with a private Australian spaceport to launch rockets in 2020.

Arnhem Space Center in the Northern Territory, a tiny and remote location in Australia, is set to be ready for a world-first rocket launch. Arnhem will become the first privately- owned site outside the US to launch NASA rockets.

Carley Scott, Equatorial Launch Australia chief executive, is excited about the deal. She said that deal was the “single most important event to date” as it placed the Australian space industry on the global map. It will bring unprecedented growth in the space sector in Australia, she added.

NASA will launch from Arnhem sounding rockets, which stand about 15 meters high and spend about 15 minutes in suborbital space to conduct engineering tests and collect scientific data. (Agencies)