Rocket launches in Australian first
About 8.30am on Wednesday, Gilmour Space Technologies made history when its first orbital rocket, Eris, launched from Bowen in North Queensland.
It recorded 14 seconds of flight before crashing back to the ground, a move that was intended by the team. Gilmour Space Technologies successfully launched Eris on Wednesday. Credit: Supplied
Speaking to the The Courier-Mail, co-founder and chief executive officer Adam Gilmour said he was 'happy' with the test flight result.
The rocket had been sitting at the spaceport for more than a year, with numerous attempts to launch made in early 2025.
However, previous test flight attempts were postponed due to external factors, including strong winds and technical issues. The flight lasted 14 seconds. Credit: Supplied
'The rocket wasn't designed to (sit in one spot), and we wanted to get off the pad at minimum,' he told the outlet.
'We had all four engines fire off nicely, we avoided the pad, the rocket is off the pad now and no visible damage to the pad.' The space technologies company will plan a second test launch in six months. Krystal Hender Credit: News Corp Australia
Mr Gilmour said since the rocket avoided landing on the pad, the company would likely be able to launch a second test flight in about six months.
Online, the Gilmour Space Technologies crew said the test flight was a 'big step for (Australian) launch capability'.
'Team safe, data in hand, eyes on TestFlight 2,' the post read.
Mr Gilmour said it was 'almost unheard of' for a private company to launch a rocket ship to orbit the first time around.
'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,' he said.
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