Students from across Australia travel to Southern Launch HQ to launch their own rocket!

*Southern Launch’s 2026 Work Experience class, launching their bottle rockets*

Southern Launch’s Work Experience program, now in its fifth year, is only growing in popularity. This year almost 100 year 10 students applied with nine successful applicants chosen to embark on a weeklong journey to discover what working in the space industry is really like.

Travelling from regional SA, Queensland and Tasmania the students joined the Southern Launch team to learn about key engineering principals, gain an understanding of what it takes to support a successful space mission and design and launch their very own rocket.

They also had the opportunity to visit other Adelaide-based space companies, meet industry professionals and discover the range of careers that support Australia's growing space sector.

For many, the biggest surprise was discovering just how broad the space industry is in Australia.

"There was a lot more to it than I had previously thought," one student reflected. “I didn't realise how many types of engineers there were, or how much law is used in it [space missions]. It's actually really interesting."

Another student was equally surprised by the complexity involved in conducting a successful rocket launch.

"I was a bit shocked at how many things go into a rocket just to make it functional, let alone successful," they said. "Weather, materials, all the different components, there are so many things to be aware of."

Southern Launch 2026 Work Experience Vlog:

Created by work experience student, Zack. K

An Excursion to Lot Fourteen.

An industry excursion to Lot Fourteen further broadened the student’s perspective on the space industry and challenged their assumptions about what a career in space looks like.

"I didn't know there was that much stuff orbiting space," one student said about the visit to Saber Astronautics. The visit to the Bureau of Meteorology Space Weather Centre also showcased how much space weather affects us here on Earth with on student commenting " I didn't know how much we use the sun to understand geospatial storms and weather patterns."

*Site visit to Satellite Mission Solutions company,* *Inovor Technologies.*

Highlight of the week, the bottle rocket challenge!

One of the highlights of Southern Launch's Work Experience Program is the opportunity for students to apply theory in a practical setting. What began as an engineering challenge quickly became an exercise in failure, problem solving, iteration and teamwork. As on the morning of the launch, two of the three groups ended up fully redesigning their rockets.

"We originally built a much bigger rocket, but then found out if we launched it, it would explode," a student laughed. "So we did some redesigning and quickly made three new rockets. This one ended up being the best."

Another team faced similar challenges.

"Our initial rocket design probably wouldn't have worked," one student explained. "We’d stuck two bottles together, but it wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure. It would have been a disaster."

The redesign process became one of the week's most valuable lessons.

*Work experience students working on their bottle rockets.*

Discovering career pathways into the space industry.

By the end of the week, it was clear that the exposure to industry professionals had left a lasting impression.

Students who had arrived with an interest in engineering found that interest reinforced. Others discovered entirely new career possibilities. With two students pleased to learn that there are pathways into the space industry that are not centred purely on mathematics and science.

"I’m not good at math, so engineering likely isn’t for me” they said. "It's good to know that there are parts of the industry that aren't based around maths and science."

Another student shared a growing ambition to work in space law.

"I've always been interested in space, and I recently stumbled upon space law," they explained. "I thought, actually, that's pretty interesting. This experience has nudged me even closer to that compared to my other career choices."

*Mission safety workshop with the Southern Launch Flight Safety and Regulatory teams.*

Shaping the future of space.

One student summed up the experience particularly well when describing why the work felt so meaningful.

"It's really rewarding seeing the work being done here because you're doing missions that have purpose."

For Southern Launch, these sentiments capture exactly why we run the Work Experience Program. Helping young people discover not only the opportunities that exist within Australia's space industry, but also the impact they can have in shaping its future.

From advancing medical research, manufacturing advanced materials, securing sovereign access to space, supporting national security or ensuring safe, fair and equitable access to space now and into the future.

Our goal is that these students leave with a deeper understanding that the future of space isn't something that simply happens, it's something they can help shape.

We’re excited to see what they do next!