Australian rocket company, Gilmour Space Technologies, recently unveiled its ‘One Vision’ rocket which it plans to launch later this month.
The nine-meter-tall rocket, which is slated to launch from a private property in far north Queensland, will be carrying payloads from universities in Australia and Singapore, with Gilmour Space currently in the final stages of obtaining launch approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority,
The company’s CEO & Founder, Adam Gilmour, said the coming launch will also be a test of the company’s new mobile launch platform and ground control station.
“One Vision is a scaled version of our Ariel sounding rocket, and its main objective will be to flight-test our proprietary hybrid rocket engine for commercial orbital launches starting in 2020,” Mr Gilmour explained.
“There are currently no commercial launch sites for orbital launches in Australia. What you see here today will enable us to launch from remote areas in Australia and elsewhere.”
Member of the Queensland parliamentary committee Chris Whiting, who witnessed a live demonstration of Gilmour Space’s automated mobile launcher, commended the company for spearheading the development of the State’s space industry.
“I congratulate Gilmour Space for being such active and innovative entrepreneurs, really driving the development of the Queensland space industry,” Mr Whiting said.
“It’s so critical that other Queensland companies see that they too could be active participants in Space 2.0.”
Mr Gilmour is convinced that a dedicated commercial launch site in Queensland could form the cornerstone of upstream space manufacturing in Queensland and Australia.
“It’s becoming clear to everyone that space is a real business,” he continued,
“It is an industry that is developing cutting edge technology, attracting real investments, employing highly skilled talent within Australia, and bringing new and valuable skills into the country.
“With stronger support from the government, I believe this growth could be nurtured and accelerated, helping us put Australia on the global space map.”
