Gilmour Space Technologies rocket launch in Bowen postponed

The first Australian built rocket launch had been postponed again, giving the team more flexibility and time to rest.

Gilmour Space Technologies Eris rocket launch window has been postponed. Image: Supplied

Another postponement has pushed back the launch of the first ever Australian-built rocket which was planned to launch out of Bowen on July 3.

Gilmour Space Technologies made the announcement on their social media saying the postponement would give them a longer, more flexible launch window and allow their team a chance to rest after an intense few weeks of testing and prep.

Gilmour Space said the earliest launch window would now be 16 July which included a required two-week notification to CASA.

They said this date would be be subject to weather as the launch got closer.

The launch has been a long time coming, already pushed back from 2022 with design and development beginning six years ago.

Investigations into an anomaly that delayed the launch on 15 May revealed an “unexpected power surge” as the trigger, not a hungry cockatoo.

“The payload fairing system was triggered during vehicle shutdown by an unexpected power surge, caused by electrical backfeed from downstream devices,” they said.

Gilmour Space Technologies crew including Michelle Gilmour at the front. Picture: Supplied by Gilmour Space Technologies

They added that shutdowns were a normal part of launch operations and additional safeguards were being installed to prevent the anomaly from happening again.

Marketing and communications manager at Gilmour Space Technologies, Michelle Gilmour, said previously that there was no guarantee the rocket would achieve lift off during its test run with a range of factors playing a role.

“It could be an all-day affair; it could be a five-day affair. It could be a two-week affair,” Ms Gilmour said.

Mrs Gilmour said because of the unpredictable nature launching rockets spectators were not encouraged for TestFlight1.

“Rocket tech is really hard … it’s been done by so few nations and the technology itself is confidential, a secret,” she said.

“So, we’ve basically developed almost every system that’s on the rocket ourselves.

“That kind of propulsion system is not easy to develop. We have a hybrid rocket engine, which is a new kind of rocket engine … so it’s already a different rocket technology that we’ll be testing.”

Mrs Gilmour said it was very common for first launches not to be immediately successful.

Originally published as Gilmour Space Technologies rocket launch in Bowen postponed