Gilmour Space to launch Caravan-1 rideshare mission to space

North Queensland’s own space gurus Gilmour continue to push the boundaries of Australia’s outer-earth capability - and future ‘space tourism’ trips aren’t out of the question.

The North Queensland town of Bowen will soon be the launch pad for Australia’s first ‘caravan’ into space.

Gilmour Space Technologies has announced the launch of Caravan-1, an innovative rideshare mission into low earth orbit for 2024.

The mission will involve the company uplifting multiple customer payloads on a single rocket, a model that will expand accessibility for space and tech companies looking to develop, test, iterate and deploy their technologies in space.

Caravan-1 will launch on the company’s upgraded Eris Block 2 rocket and a Gilmour Space spokesman said the number of customers would depend on the “size, shape and volume of the payload”.

“The payload fairings will open and the payloads will be deployed when it is in the required orbit,” she said.

“It is a bit like Tetris, pack it all in and then you have to be smart about how you release it.”

The rocket will have a capacity of 1000kg and could hold satellites and small aircraft such as cubestats and microsats.

A rendition of Gilmour Space Technologies' Eris Block 2 rocket. Picture: Contributed

The Eris Block 2 will be constructed on the Gold Coast before it is shipped up to Bowen to be put together for the launch.

Gilmour Space co-founder Adam Gilmour said the next few years would be a “very exciting” time for the global space industry.

“Missions like this (Caravan-1) will allow us to support the growth of new satellite and in-orbit technologies that could benefit humanity on Earth, in space and beyond,” he said.

Excitement continues to build across Mackay and the Whitsundays for the company’s first launch in early 2023, which could usher in a new era of rocket tourism.

Merinda Village Hotel manager Debra Reason is looking forward to lift-off.

“I think it’s going to be fantastic,” she said.

“We’ve got the perfect viewing point from our motel of the rocket launch.

“We’re working towards having rocket launch parties.”

Gilmour’s spokesman also said the company could one day offer space tourism.

“We need to fly before we can carry people into space,” she said.

“But it is definitely on the horizon.”

Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space is a venture-backed space manufacturer of launch vehicles and satellite platforms.

In another sign of the region’s space dreams transforming into reality, Resources Centre of Excellence chief Steven Boxall will host NASA astronaut Susan Kilrain this week, a first for Mackay.

“We are running a program called Space 2101, it is a global program aimed at getting kids focused on pursuing space careers,” Mr Boxall said.

Mackay is the only city in Australia to host the program and Mrs Kilrain will speak to 50 children about her experiences as a commander in space.

In a LinkedIn post from Monday, Mrs Kilrain expressed her excitement about flying over the Pacific to land in Australia.

“My one more sleep will be across the Pacific – can’t wait to meet the team and check out the students’ designs,” she writes.

Mr Boxall said Gilmour Space’s progress and the visit from Mrs Kilrain demonstrated the space industry was now a part of the Mackay Whitsundays fabric.

“It (Gilmour Space) has taken people from thinking the only way to have a career in space is to be a white suit and part of the NASA program but actually there is a whole new industry in building rocket ships, the manufacturing and assembly of those rockets and satellites, and that is all right here right now, happening in Queensland,” he said.