THE Australian government has cleared the last regulatory barrier to building a rocket launch site at Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Work at the site will begin later this year, according to Asia Pacific Space Centre Pty Ltd, the Sydney-based consortium which will operate the launch site.

The consortium comprises Russian, US and South Korean companies, plus the Australians, and will invest some US$500 million in Phase One of the project. The first commercial launch is slated for 2003 and not 2001, as earlier stated.