Enabling Safe Launch and Range Services for Space Infrastructure - MATLAB
Video length is 1:51

Enabling Safe Launch and Range Services for Space Infrastructure

Lewis McCluskey, SouthernLaunch.Space
Matthew Slater, SouthernLaunch.Space

Startup company Southern Launch provides launch and range services for space endeavors such as launching orbital rockets. MAGIC, the company’s rocket flight safety analysis tool, helps ensure launch day flight safety and failure prediction.

Teams can rapidly prototype and test ideas before implementing solutions using the MATLAB® and Simulink® product families and built-in MATLAB functionality, allowing them to develop technology solutions quickly without having to redevelop the base software.

As part of the MathWorks Startup Program, Southern Launch has access to MATLAB at a startup-friendly price and engineering support from MathWorks experts. This partnership and MATLAB tools enable resource savings and the ability to work as a small team. With the build-out and technology validation made possible by the MathWorks Startup Program, Southern Launch can raise more capital and expand.

Published: 27 Feb 2023

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Sudden Launch see supporting rapid access to space through our wireless but orbital launch site. We act as a logistics hub. So by having a launch site located here in South Australia, we can attract Rocket Companies that will come and set up here to manufacturer, as well as satellite companies to be able to support Earth observation, for example, or communication networks. Magic is our flight safety analysis tool. It's designed for rapid flight safety development, and it allows us to work out where the rockets going to land in both the nominal scenario, as well as fairly scenarios too where things may go wrong.

We work out the risk areas for people, as well as risk areas to aircraft as well as the ships too. To then demonstrate that on the launch day, the launch is still safe, and it's within the respective launch safety standards.

We use MathWorks software pretty extensively to provide us with a head start I guess, on our software development journey, and to allow us to rapidly prototype new solutions. It allows us to prove out ideas through proof of concept, and then before committing to a full solution, allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of that solution.

The benefit of using MathWorks products for us is that we can focus on capability development, instead of software driven development. So we can establish very quickly new technology solutions to emerging problems at a much faster rate than if we were to develop the underlying software to support that.

We also have a really good relationship with MathWorks engineering support. So we'll often share some of the concepts or ideas we have and discuss how best to achieve those aims. The best part of my job is launching rockets, so it's been a dream of mine since I was younger, and working for a startup company that's launching rockets in Australia of all places, is a dream come true really for me.

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