Australia’s first-ever home-built orbital rocket, named Eris, crashed just 14 seconds after takeoff on Wednesday morning in Queensland. But Gilmour Space Technologies, the company behind the launch, says the attempt is still a big step forward for the country’s space industry.
The 23-meter, 30-tonne rocket took off from Bowen orbital spaceport, marking the first test of an Australian-made rocket designed to reach space. Unfortunately, it did not gain enough thrust to stay in the air and crashed in a cloud of smoke.
YouTuber Aussienaut, who livestreamed the launch, captured the short flight with excitement and disappointment: “We’re going, we’re going!” he shouted, only to follow with “It’s gone. There wasn’t sufficient thrust.”
Despite the crash, Gilmour Space said the flight provided valuable data and proved key systems worked. The team called it a “strong result” for a first launch, especially after 18 months of delays waiting for final approvals.
CEO Adam Gilmour said he was “happy” with the attempt, writing on social media, “Got off the pad. Of course I would have liked more flight time but happy with this.”
The rocket was packed with sensors to help engineers understand what went wrong and improve future launches. The company is already planning “Test Flight 2.”
The launch was also praised by space education group One Giant Leap Australia Foundation, who wrote: “The only way to learn is to fail forward. We know more today than we did yesterday.”
Gilmour Space recently received $5 million from the Australian government to develop its next-generation liquid rocket engine, showing continued support for growing Australia’s space capability.
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