The Australian launch services company has announced a launch window starting ‘no earlier than’ March 15. This is for the maiden flight of Eris, the first Australian-designed and built rocket aiming for orbit.
Pictured above is Gilmour Space’s Eris rocket at the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland.
Australian rocket
“I want to thank our incredible team at Gilmour Space for all their hard work and dedication in getting to this critical first flight,” said Adam Gilmour, co-founder and CEO of Gilmour Space. “Whatever happens next, know that you’ve already made history – we now build rockets in Australia. And this is only the beginning.”
The company is backed by private investors including Blackbird, Main Sequence, Fine Structure Ventures, Queensland Investment Corporation, and superannuation such as HESTA, Hostplus, and NGS Super.
We reported at the end of last year that the company had received the country’s first launch permit. This moved the first orbital flight of an Australian rocket from the country’s soil another stage closer.
Caution
Note that Adam Gilmour also cautioned over three factors.
First that launch delays were still possible, whether lasting hours, days or even weeks. These will be resulting from weather conditions, technical issues, or other factors. “Safety is always the top priority,” he said. “We’ll only launch when we’re ready, and when conditions are appropriate.”
Second, he cautioned every successful rocket company has faced setbacks in early launch attempts. He was citing SpaceX, with their fourth launch attempt being successful. “It’s almost unheard of for a private rocket company to launch successfully to orbit the first time. 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.”
Finally, he touched on sovereign space capability, and its importance for Australia’s future. “Only six countries in the world are launching regularly to space using their own technology, and Australia could soon be one of them.”
Image: Gilmour Space
See also: Gilmour Space propels Eris rockets with $47m Series C funding
