Episode One - "The Early Years (1957 - 1958)" Nearly 10 years ago, Woomera was founded. Used as a testing site for Britain missiles, Australia and subsequently the CSRIO rode on the coattails of England's funding. Through the years of military funding, the government was able to grant CSRIO funds. Not a lot, but enough to carry out scientific and rocketry research. The time for Australian supremacy over the cosmos was now. The Tall Tim (1957) (Tall Tim pictured here, payload exposed) The Tall Tim was the first sounding rocket designed by Australian minds to be launched. It consisted of an RF receiver with a parachute and battery, designed to be slow down impact, giving it enough time to transmit the findings of the many scientific instruments attached to the second stage. With a height of 3.7 meters and weighing exactly a single ton, the Tall Tim was used six times as a cheap way to discover the atmospheric qualities of Earth. Scientific Gathering Research Rocket (1958) (SGRRs' payload) The SGRR was launched December 26th, 1958. It contained a scientific core based off the Sputnik launched a year earlier, a backup battery and a guidance system. Also on its payload were scientific instruments similar to one used years earlier with the Tall Tim. A navigation camera was also attached, with the intention of taking a photo of Earth in Space. (SGRR on the pad) (SGRR flying over the Australian deserts) (SGRRs' payload is released from its fairing, soaring further into the atmosphere) (Australia's first object in space)
