The Ausroc III Program is one of the most advanced initiatives of its type in the world. It is by far the most ambitious high technology education and development program ever undertaken in Australia. The methods by which the Program is being advanced are revolutionary. The vehicle being developed is an order of magnitude more sophisticated than any other rocket previously developed in this country. From humble beginnings, the Ausroc Program is maturing into a pathfinder for the re-entry of Australia into the global space industry.

Advancement of the Ausroc Program relies upon the continuing support of government, industry and the Australian public generally.

The Vehicle

The Ausroc III vehicle is a liquid fuelled sounding rocket designed to launch a 150 kilogram payload module to an altitude of 500 kilometres on a sub-orbital trajectory. Unlike most sounding rockets in commercial use today, the vehicle will incorporate active guidance which means that its trajectory will be controllable during flight. The payload module will achieve approximately 6 minutes of weightlessness before re-entry and recovery via a steerable gliding parachute recovery system. These capabilities compare favourably with those of sounding rockets in commercial use today.

Management

The resources required to develop the vehicle are being contributed by ASRI, government, industry, academic institutions and the Australian community generally. Development work is being undertaken by work groups supervised by a professional project management hierarchy. Assessment of the integrity of designs and components is being undertaken at three levels, including a review by a panel of independent experts drawn from industry.

Commercial Application

The Ausroc III Program is primarily intended to advance education, technology and industry development. However, the capability and hardware developed through the program may have commercial application:

• As a technology, process and experience base.

The design of Ausroc III is similar to several proposed commercial light satellite launch vehicles. This similarity is not coincidental. As satellite and hence launch vehicle weights are reduced with advances in technology, lightweight pressure fed launch vehicles will become increasingly competitive, at least in the small satellite end of the market. Capability in this area may therefore be the key to future Australian participation in the provision of light launch services. The Ausroc III Program is intended to forge Australian capability through establishing a technology, process and experience base upon which future commercial industry activity in this area may be built.

• As a sounding rocket.

The Ausroc III vehicle will have performance similar to a number of sounding rockets in current commercial use. However, it is expected to be less costly for a number of reasons, including the extremely low development cost and the use of safe, low cost fuels. Further, being liquid fuelled and actively guided, its performance and trajectory can be tailored to the specific needs of users. The design may therefore be competitive in existing markets and sufficiently low cost to open new markets. Pilot studies as to markets and further development of Ausroc III for commercial use are to be undertaken as part of the Program.

In these respects the Program is pathfinding potential commercially driven initiatives.

Documentation

Further information on the Ausroc III program can be obtained from The Ausroc III Program, which is downloadable below. The document outlines the aims and objectives of the Ausroc III program, the project management structure, details of the flight vehicle and launch arrangements. The Ausroc III Program (60 pages, 2.8Mb)The Ausroc III Program comprises Document A3.01 of the Ausroc III documentation system. Other documents are listed below.

Document	Title
A3.01	The Ausroc III Program
A3.02	Project Management Plan
A3.03	Quality Plan
A3.04	Master System Specification
A3.05	Propulsion Specification
A3.06	Structures Specification
A3.07	Avionics Specification
A3.08	Flight Control Specification
A3.09	Payload Specification
A3.10	Ground Segment Specification
A3.11	Test and Evaluation Master Plan
A3.12	Loads and Environment Definition Plan
A3.13	Development Documentation System
A3.14	Operational Procedures