Historic high as Aussie rocket flies for 14s in ‘major milestone’

An Australian-first rocket achieved lift-off in north Queensland on Wednesday, staying airborne for 14 seconds before crashing to earth. Watch its flight.

Gilmour Space Technologies’ 30-tonne Eris rocket is launched. Picture: Gilmour Space Technologies

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An Australian-first rocket achieved lift-off in north Queensland on Wednesday, staying airborne for 14 seconds before crashing to earth.

The maiden test flight was pronounced a major milestone towards the development of a domestic, low-cost launch service for small satellites.

Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies launched its 23-metre Eris Testflight 1 rocket from the company’s purpose-built pad at the Bowen Orbital Spaceport, in north Queensland’s Whitsunday region, about 8.30am.

The 30-tonne rocket, powered by new hybrid propulsion technology, cleared its Bowen launch pad before suffering a suspected engine failure, falling to the ground and catching fire.

It was the first locally designed and built orbital rocket to be launched from Australia, and carried a payload of a single jar of Vegemite.

Gilmour Space chief executive Adam Gilmour said even Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets needed multiple test flights before they were perfected, and data from the launch would be used to develop a new rocket to be tested within six to seven months.

“This was the first real test of our rocket systems, our propulsion technology, and our spaceport – and it proved that much of what we’ve built works,” Mr Gilmour said from the company’s Bowen launch facility.

He was “happy” with the outcome: all four engines fired and initial inspections revealed no visible damage on the launch pad.

“Of course I would have liked more flight time, but (I’m) happy with this,” he said.

“Getting off the pad and into flight is a huge step forward for any new rocket program. This was the first real test of our rocket systems, our propulsion technology, and our spaceport – and it proved that much of what we’ve built works.”

“Only six nations currently launch to orbit regularly, and just a handful are developing sovereign capability to join them. We’ve now taken a big step toward joining that group.”

Gilmore Space’s Eris rocket becomes the first Australian-made orbital launch vehicle to lift off from Australian soil. Picture: Gilmour Space Technologies

The launch followed an 18-month wait for approval by the Australian Space Agency.

There were no injuries or adverse environmental impacts arising from the test, the company said.

Eris was developed almost entirely in-house – including propulsion, structures, avionics, software, and the spaceport itself – on a fraction of the budget available to most global launch companies.

Gilmour Space Technologies is backed by venture capital firms, including Blackbird Ventures, and superfunds HESTA and Hostplus.

The Eris test flight was the first for an Australian-designed and built orbital rocket. Picture: Gilmour Space

Wednesday marked Australia’s first successful orbital launch from home soil more than 50 years after the last attempt. The company will now regroup, with plans for another launch in the coming months.

The Eris three-stage orbital rocket is designed to send small satellites and other loads up to 300kg into space. The rocket was initially meant to be launched in May, but the mission was aborted half an hour before the scheduled launch window due to an unexpected technical issue with the rocket’s nose cone.

Federal Industry and Innovation, and Science Minister Tim Ayres said the launch would give confidence to Australian businesses with “bold industrial missions”.

“The confidence gained, and lessons learned will advance Gilmour and the space ecosystem,” Mr Ayres said.