The spaceship hovered for less than a minute before crashing in a giant plume of smoke, but it was history-making nonetheless – the attempted launch of an orbital rocket designed and made in Australia.
The Eris rocket was built by Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space and briefly blasted off from the Bowen orbital spaceport in north Queensland on Wednesday morning, after months of waiting for the right conditions.
The orbit attempt was watched on from the surrounding hills by enthusiasts and streamed live by the likes of YouTuber Josh Keegan, also known as Aussienaut.
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“OK we’re going, we’re going, it’s going!” Keegan said with breathless excitement after a second day of patient watching – but the celebrations did not last long.
“It’s gone, it’s gone,” Keegan said seconds later. “Oh no, it didn’t go, there wasn’t sufficient thrust to actually keep it up.
The 23-metre-long, 30-tonne Eris rocket was launched from the Bowen orbital spaceport after months of waiting for the right conditions. Photograph: Gilmour Space Technologies
“I believe that’s the end of the Eris rocket. We have a cloud, and that’s the end.”
But while the billow of smoke may have marked the end of Eris, Gilmour and the nascent Australian space industry hope this failed orbit attempt will prove just a beginning.
Gilmour Space issued a statement shortly afterwards saying Eris’s 14 seconds of flight brought Australia closer to the club of six nations who regularly launch spacecraft to orbit.
“For a maiden test flight, especially after an extended 18-month wait on the pad for final approvals, this is a strong result and a major step forward for Australia’s sovereign space capability,” the statement read.
“Most importantly, the team is safe and energised for Test Flight 2.”
The company’s CEO, Adam Gilmour, posted on social media that he was happy with the launch attempt.
“Got off the Pad, I am happy,” he wrote. “Of course I would have liked more flight time but happy with this.”
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The 23-metre-long, 30-tonne rocket was covered in sensors from which the Queensland company will hope to glean information to assist future launch attempts.
One Giant Leap Australia Foundation, which develops education programs geared toward growing a future workforce in the space industry, was among those to congratulate Gilmour Space for a “sterling effort”.
“The only way to learn is to fail forward,” it posted on social media. “We know more today than we did yesterday.”
Gilmour Space was poised to launch on Tuesday but winds were too strong. It had also sought to launch in May but did not.
The company received $5m from the Australian government for its Eris launch vehicle last week to develop its next-generation liquid rocket engine.