Gold Coast business Gilmour Space Technologies preparing for suborbital rocket launch

A Gold Coast-based space exploration company is expanding as it prepares to launch its first flight.

A GOLD Coast-based space exploration company is expanding as it prepares to launch its first flight.

Gilmour Space Technologies will relocate from Pimpama to a larger based of operations in Helensvale in coming weeks ahead of a suborbital rocket launch.

A launch date is yet to be set but a dry run is expected to be conducted in coming weeks.

Company director James Gilmour said preparations for the flight were well underway.

James and Adam Gilmour. Pics Tim Marsden

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“My brother and I both love here and we have a great relationship with the local universities,” he said.

“Plus, the sun always shines in Queensland.

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“We have taken a lease of a new site which is bigger than our current location which will allow us to consolidate.”

The Gilmour’s bought their Pimpama location, next to the former Strawberry Farm site, in 2014 for more than $1.9 million.

T he One Vision rocket. Pics Tim Marsden

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In February, the company unveiled its nine-metre “one vision” rocket which will be used as part of the flight, which is expected to be conducted from a remote location in north Queensland.

It is so large it required the Gilmours to develop a purpose-built launch platform.

A remote launch site is needed to be away from major population centres.

The rocket, which will conduct the suborbital journey, is expected to carry payloads from universities in Australia and Singapore.

Mr Gilmour said the “dress-rehearsal” would include the assembly of the rocket on the launch tower and the practice of all the protocols which will go into the flight.

James Gilmour and Adam Gilmour

The Coast company last year announced plans to launch small satellites weighing up to 100kg into low earth orbits from next year, and up to 400kg from 2021.

The Gilmours last year received a $19 million funding boost from the CSIRO, which the company will use to further develop its low-cost rockets and launch vehicles to send small to medium-sized satellites into orbit.

A conference of space industry scientists was told last year that Australia’s space industry would be worth $12 billion by 2030.

And Queensland is set to get a big slice of that with a Deloitte report released this year by the State Government revealing the our share would be about $6 billion.