First ever Australian-built rocket's launch delayed as issue discovered hours before scheduled take-off
The launch of the first ever Australian-built rocket hoping to reach orbit has been delayed after an issue was discovered just hours before its scheduled take-off.
Gilmour Space Technologies is hoping to make history when its Eris rocket launches for the first time from Bowen Orbital Spaceport in north Queensland, and a launch window of between 7.30am - 5.30pm on Thursday had been set.
But the Gold Coast-based rocket company provided an update about 6.30am on Thursday morning, sharing that an issue has been identified in the ground support system during overnight checks.
'We're now in an extended hold while we work through it,' a post on the Gilmour Space Technologies' Facebook page said.
The company is now hoping to launch on Friday morning.
Bowen area residents have been asked to observe all hazard areas for land, sea and air that are in place on launch days.
Gilmour Space Technologies announced in February that a launch window starting no earlier than March 15 had been set for Eris' maiden flight, which hoped to make history as the first Australian-designed and built rocket to reach orbit.
The news came after the company was given the green light by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and Airservices Australia.
Co-founder and chief executive Adam Gilmour highlighted that delays are a 'normal part of rocket launches' that can last from hours to days or even weeks, often caused by technical issues or weather conditions.
"Safety is always the top priority. We'll only launch when we're ready, and when conditions are appropriate," Mr Gilmour said in the February announcement.
He pointed out 'the first launch is always the hardest' as getting a rocket to reach orbit is a 'highly complex engineering challenge'.
"It's almost unheard of for a private rocket company to launch successfully to orbit the first time,' Mr Gilmour 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."
Mr Gilmoir said there are only six countries in the world regularly launching rockets into space using their own technology, and 'Australia could soon be one of them'.
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