Gilmour Space Technologies has announced a launch window beginning no earlier than 15 March for the maiden flight of Eris, the first Australian-designed and built rocket aiming for orbit.
The company, based on the Gold Coast, has now cleared all regulatory requirements, including final airspace approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and Airservices Australia.
The announcement follows years of research and development by Gilmour Space, which has also established the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland.
Gilmour Space stated that the Bowen facility reached a significant milestone last year by becoming the first Australian site to be granted an orbital launch facility licence.
In November, Gilmour Space also secured the country’s first Australian Launch Permit for Eris TestFlight 1.
“This will be the first attempt of an Australian rocket to reach orbit from Australian soil,” said Adam Gilmour, co-founder and CEO of Gilmour Space.
The company is backed by several private investors, including Blackbird, Main Sequence, Fine Structure Ventures, and the Queensland Investment Corporation, as well as superannuation funds such as HESTA, Hostplus, and NGS Super.
With the launch date approaching, Gilmour cautioned that delays are a routine part of spaceflight. Factors such as weather conditions or technical issues could lead to postponements.
“Safety is always the top priority. We’ll only launch when we’re ready, and when conditions are appropriate,” he said.
Gilmour also acknowledged the challenges associated with a maiden launch, pointing out that reaching orbit is a complex engineering task.
He noted that many private rocket companies, including SpaceX, experienced multiple attempts before achieving success.
“It’s almost unheard of for a private rocket company to launch successfully to orbit the first time,” he said.
“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.”
The development of a sovereign space launch capability is a key focus for the company, which sees it as critical to Australia’s economic and technological future.
“Only six countries in the world are launching regularly to space using their own technology, and Australia could soon be one of them,” Gilmour said.
He credited the company’s team for reaching this milestone and expressed optimism about the journey ahead.
“Whatever happens next, know that you’ve already made history—we now build rockets in Australia. And this is only the beginning.”
For more information about Eris TestFlight 1, visit www.gspace.com/missions.
