Australia is celebrating 50 years since the launch of its first satellite.

The Weapons Research Establishment Satellite (WRESAT) was launched from Woomera, in outback South Australia, on November 29, 1967.

Space historian Kerrie Dougherty said the United States brought 10 Redstone rockets to Australia for testing and because all nine launches went to plan, they had one left over.

"The Americans didn't want to take it back to the US because it was essentially an obsolete missile, so they just didn't want to spend the money to take it back," she said.

"So the offer was made to Australia: 'If you want to build a satellite, we'll let you have this rocket to launch this satellite'."

Ms Dougherty said people from the weapons research group had to approach a government representative at a Christmas party to get permission for the launch.

"They had to get him out of his drinking party on Christmas Eve 1966 to get permission, in principle, to go ahead while official permission was sought from the Government," she said.

Ms Dougherty said with US personnel set to leave Woomera at the end of 1967, Australia had just 11 months to complete the project.

"Even by today's standards, that is an incredibly tight program to design, build, test and then launch a satellite," she said.

Scientists loaded the satellite with physics experiments from the University of Adelaide. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia )

Peter Fietz was a 21-year-old apprentice working at the Weapons Research Establishment at the time and was one who witnessed the launch.

"I saw things that were generally science fiction for most people, but they were just considered parts of our normal life," he said.

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Mr Fietz said he remembered how quiet it was compared to other rocket launches he had seen at the base.

"[Normally there are] gigantic vibrations that shake your whole body, but this was so much smoother [and] so much quieter," he said.

"[It was] almost routine, almost not surprising at all. It's worked and it hasn't failed, and there wasn't any more excitement than that."

Alan Forbes designed the telemetry for WRESAT, used to transmit data from the satellite while in orbit.

He said he was given a NASA booklet and asked what he could make of it for the Australian satellite.

"They were terribly well conservative in their design, and I came up with something better," Mr Forbes said.

The experiments on board were designed by the University of Adelaide and had to be transmitted as radio waves back to earth as the satellite was to burn up upon return.

Mr Forbes and his team also designed a failsafe self-destruct in case the rocket went astray during the launch.

"If my link were to fail, it would be blown up anyway, so I had to get it right," he said.

"I was assured there was a lynch mob waiting for me if this thing did fail during launch."

Chief defence scientist Dr Alex Zelinsky (left), former WRESAT worker Peter Fietz and Senator Anne Ruston at a commemorative event for the 50th anniversary of the launch. ( Department of Defence: David Cotton )

Mr Forbes said the time between launch and orbit was tense for his team.

"After a few minutes, there was an announcement: 'WRESAT is in orbit', and I was more than a bit excited," he said.

"And that night at the Woomera mess, I was one of the young fellas at the back who was wolf-whistling and shouting while the Minister and all sorts of VIPs tried their best to congratulate us."

The instrumental layout of the WRESAT satellite in the Department of Supply report into the launch. ( National Archives of Australia )

More space exploration possible from Woomera

Australia's chief defence scientist, Dr Alex Zelinsky, said the 1967 launch was a significant moment in Australian science.

"Only two other countries had launched satellites — the US and the USSR, and then us," he said.

"That's extraordinary when you think about it."

The cover of a report into the WRESAT launch by the Department of Supply. ( Supplied: National Archives of Australia )

But Dr Zelinsky is uncertain whether Woomera could host launches again in the future.

"I think it could, but it's not really necessary," he said.

"At the time, it was the place because we were launching the rockets for a program we had with the US and the UK and then we stopped launching rockets there for 50 years."

Dr Zelinsky said being able to launch rockets was not vital to a space industry in Australia.

"In the end, it's just the launch that gets you there; it's the payload that's important and what the payload does," he said.

But Mr Fietz said he wished Australia had maintained its space capabilities as it had all the manufacturing and electronic facilities.

"We don't have that anymore, and there's a certain sadness about that," he said.