Gilmour Space Technologies delays launch of Australia's first home-grown rocket, with hopes for take-off on Friday
The stage is set for a Queensland company to enter the record books as the first to launch a locally-made rocket into orbit from Australian soil — but history won't be made today.
After years of planning and preparations, Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies finally has clearance to launch its 23-metre Eris rocket from a purpose-built pad in the north Queensland town of Bowen.
Authorities have given the company a two-week window for the launch, which first opened on Thursday at 7.30am.
Less than an hour before the window opened, the company announced a technical difficulty that would postpone its launch target until Friday.
Company co-founder and CEO Adam Gilmour said an issue with the rocket's electrical system was discovered on Wednesday evening.
"The team's working as quickly as they can so we can get to tomorrow morning's launch window at 7.30am," Mr Gilmour said.
He said the team was expecting some last-minute issues.
"I've been out at the launch site probably 16 hours a day, through the nights, watching everybody and they're all just pumped, working as hard as possible to get the rocket ready."
If the 30-tonne rocket eventually does makes it beyond the Earth's atmosphere and into orbit, it will be the culmination of a dream first sparked in 2012 when Gilmour Space Technologies opened its doors in a northern Gold Coast factory.
"It's obviously been a long journey for me and my brother, our investors and our dedicated employees," said company co-founder James Gilmour.
"Now we're on the cusp of achieving Australian space history."
As well as getting launch clearance from the Australian Space Agency and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the company also needed environmental approval and permits to build its launch pad in what was once a cow paddock.
For all the effort and years of work, there's no guarantee that the rocket will reach orbit.
In fact, Adam Gilmour is all but banking on some kind of misfire.
"It's very hard to ask a rocket guy how confident they are on their first launch because 100 per cent of them fail — it just depends where they fail," he told the ABC's The Business.
"I'm personally hoping to get off the [launch] pad. My chief engineer says if we get off the pad we'll have at least 20, 30, 40, 50-seconds of flight time.
"If we do that it'll be considered a very successful first flight."
James Gilmour is equally pragmatic about the rocket's chance of reaching orbit. For now at least, he's keeping watch on what's happening inside the Earth's atmosphere.
"The weather is a very important aspect — it can't be blowing a gale and unfortunately sometimes Bowen is known as being 'Blowin' Bowen' … but the next couple of days look favourable," he said.
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