Proposed AHAB Launch Area near Morgan

Figure 1 - Proposed Launch Sites

Currently there are two potential South Australian launch sites. The Woomera rocket range and a property near Morgan.

The Woomera site has the advantage of being surrounded by  large unpopulated areas and relevant infrastructure. This includes a Bureau Of Meteorology (BOM) weather station where upper air flights are routinely carried out. The disadvantage of the site is that it located well away from Adelaide and it is likely that there will be locations where there is no access for safety reasons (unexploded munitions, etc.). This area is ideally suited for medium and large balloon flights where more stringent flight conditions apply.

The Morgan site is located about 1.5 hours drive from Adelaide, making it attractive from a logistics point of view. On the down side, it is located near the Murray River which may cause problems if the winds carry it across the river (or worse still, land in the river).

Figure 2 - Morgan Environs

The Morgan area is most flat grazing country, with significant settlements at Morgan to the North East, Waitkerie to the East-South-East and Blanchetown to the South.

Figure 3 - Proposed Launch Area Environs

The immediate area around the proposed launch site is relatively flat grazing paddocks, with patches of Mallee scrub. To the East near the river are large vineyards which may present an access problem for short easterly flights (about 5km East). The East presents problem because of the Murray River and the river gums may present a problem is the payload lands in one of them. The Mallee trees away from the river a relatively short compared to the river gums.

Figure 4 - Proposed Launch Area

The launch area is contained within a property which is approximately 1.6km long by 1km wide. The launch site is on a flat flood plain between two gently rising areas. The are is devoid of trees or shrubs and would make an ideal spot to fill and launch balloons. It would also be an ideal spot to have a tethered balloon. There is one house in the property south of the road and another about 2km further south. The adjacent property to the West has a building. There are no buildings to the North of the property for a few kilometres past the main road.