Australian history made with successful Arnhem Land rocket launch

History has been made overnight with NASA launching a rocket into the skies from the Northern Territory's Arnhem Land, marking Australia's first ever commercial space launch.

Arnhem Space Centre CEO, Michael Jones said there were some delays due to the weather, but once the rocket did take off "it was very exciting".

"We went through the full weather spectrum last night with heavy rain and cloud," Jones told Today.

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"We can't compromise on safety limits. The wind kept oscillating around the rocket.

"We just had to make sure it was safe. We delayed, but then it finally got off."

Jones said the rocket contained a 400kg telescope in its tube and once in space, the front will open and the telescope will have an x-ray camera that will be able to capture "various astrological phenomena".

"Trying to capture parts of the Milky Way and particularly the star cluster of Alpha Centauri and its sub parts alpha and bravo, 430 million light years away," he said.

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Last night's launch is the first time since 1995 that a rocket has taken off from Australian soil and the first time for NASA launching a commercial rocket in the country.

Jones confirmed there will be more rocket launches from the Arnhem Space Centre, one on July 4 and another on July 12.

For more information on Arnhem Space Centre and their next launch, click here.

Watch the full segment above

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