Gilmour Space Technologies set launch window for rocket take off from Bowen Orbital Spaceport

The first Australian-designed and built rocket could take off from North Queensland in weeks — so long as a pesky cyclone doesn’t hit.

James and Adam Gilmour, the co-founders of Queensland startup Gilmour Space

The first Australian designed and built rocket could be taking off in weeks.

Gilmour Space Technologies, a Gold-Coast company with dreams of launching a rocket from Bowen have a ‘no earlier than’ date of 15 March.

The launch would be the first for the rocket Eris from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport.

The company was granted the country’s first Australian Launch Permit as well as final airspace approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Airservices Australia.

The ‘no earlier than’ date of 15 March is just the start of our two-week launch window, which can be extend if needed.

Queensland is currently keeping an eye out for cyclone Alfred, which formed over the weekend and could potentially turn towards the coast in the coming weeks.

Gilmour Space Technologies is getting closer to the launch of its Eris rocket from a space station near Bowen. Picture: Gilmour Space Technologies.

Co-founder and CEO of Gilmour Space, Adam Gilmour, said safety was always top priority and normal delays caused by weather conditions, technical issues, or other factors may occur before the launch can go ahead.

“This will be the first attempt of an Australian rocket to reach orbit from Australian soil,” said Mr Gilmour.

“We’ll only launch when we’re ready, and when conditions are appropriate.”

He said the first launch was always the hardest and that reaching orbit would be a highly complex engineering challenge.

“It’s almost unheard of for a private rocket company to launch successfully to orbit the first time,” he said.

“Whether we make it off the pad, reach max Q, or get all the way to space, what’s important is that every second of flight will deliver valuable data that will improve our rocket’s reliability and performance for future launches.”

Even if a cyclone does not make landfall, higher winds would be enough to factor into a launch decision.

Launching Australian-owned and controlled rockets from home soil means more high-tech jobs, greater security, economic growth, and technological independence, said Mr Gilmour.

“Only six countries in the world are launching regularly to space using their own technology, and Australia could soon be one of them,” he said.

“I want to thank our incredible team at Gilmour Space for all their hard work and dedication in getting to this critical first flight.

“Whatever happens next, know that you’ve already made history — we now build rockets in Australia.”

A Gilmour Space spokesperson said currently the Eris rocket is securely housed in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Bowen Orbital Spaceport where it would remain until the team arrives in the coming weeks to prepare for the launch.

They said they are closely monitoring the weather and it was not ideal to launch rockets when it’s stormy, windy, or if there is too much rain and moisture in the air.

Originally published as Gilmour Space Technologies set launch window for rocket take off from Bowen Orbital Spaceport