Gilmour Space Technologies: Aussie-made rocket crashes after launch attempt in Bowen, Queensland
Gilmour Space Technologies conducted the first test launch of its Eris rocket, Australia's first homegrown orbital-class rocket, from Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland on Wednesday morning.
The rocket exploded after approximately 20 seconds of being in the air.
The Gold Coast company faced multiple delays leading up to the launch, mostly due to weather and technical issues, including an electrical fault triggered during final preparations.
Co-founder and chief executive Adam Gilmour previously said that the first launch is always the hardest.
'It's almost unheard of for a private rocket company to launch successfully to orbit the first time,' he said in a statement.
'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.'
A commentator of the launch live stream can be heard repeating, 'It's going... we're going,' as the rocket blasts into the air before noting, 'it's hovering' as the rocket appears to slow down and drift sideways only seconds later.
'It's gone!' he exclaimed as the rocket crashed back down to the Earth's surface.
'Oh no, it didn't go. There wasn't sufficient thrust to actually keep it up.
'It slid straight off the pad; there wasn't sufficient thrust.'
Gilmour Space made history in March last year when its Bowen spaceport was granted the first orbital launch facility licence in Australia, and when it secured the country's first Australian Launch Permit for Eris TestFlight 1 in November.
The Nightly has reached out to Gilmour Space for comment.
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