Australia's Persistent Advancement in Space Exploration
Down Under's Leap into the Cosmos
Australia, the land Down Under, is edging closer to joining the elite group of nations with successful orbital space launches, a club as exclusive as the nuclear-armed states. The Soviet Union led the way back in 1957, with the USA following suit in 1958. A group of other space-savvy nations joined them in the following decades, but Australia remained conspicuously absent. That is, until recently.
For awhile, Australia had been offering ground station assistance to various international space missions, but it wasn't until 2018 that the Australian Space Agency (ASA) was established. Many considered it high time for an OECD member country to have a national space agency, especially since numerous facilities across the country had been contributing to international missions for years, providing critical radio downlink services and even welcoming JAXA's Hayabusa2 spacecraft back to Earth.
Unlike larger space agencies like NASA (USA) and ESA (EU), ASA isn't focused on developing launch vehicles and missions in-house. Instead, it's all about supporting and developing the local space industry. But that doesn't mean Australia isn't trying to get to orbit. Far from it.
That mission falls on the shoulders of Gilmour Space Technologies, a scrappy startup founded in 2013. It established its rocketry program in 2015 and has been working tirelessly ever since to reach the stars. The road has been rocky, but the prize of genuine space flight has never been more tantalizingly close.
Gilmour Space made a splash in 2016 with the successful suborbital launch of its hybrid rocket. This early milestone helped secure investment for even grander launches at greater scale. The company's next major launch was planned for 2019, but disaster struck just 7 seconds before liftoff when the One Vision rocket failed. But Gilmour Space didn't back down. It kept developing a larger rocket, taking on more investment and signing contracts for payload launches in the coming years.
Gilmour Space has put in a serious effort to develop its hybrid rocket engines in-house.
With orbital launches and commercial payload deliveries the ultimate goal, it wasn't enough to just develop a rocket. Working with the Australian government, Gilmour Space established the Bowen Orbital Spaceport on Queensland's Gold Coast in early 2024. The launchpad was suitable for the scale of Gilmour Space's intended space missions, located just 20 degrees south of the equator, closer than Cape Canaveral, and ideal for accessing low- to mid-inclination equatorial orbits.
The rocket that will take Gilmour Space to orbit is called Eris. With a Block 1 configuration, it stands 25 meters tall and is capable of launching payloads up to 300 kg into low-Earth orbits. It's a three-stage design, using four of Gilmour's Sirius hybrid rocket motors in the first stage, and just one in the second stage. The third stage has a smaller liquid rocket engine, named Phoenix. The rocket was first erected vertically on the launchpad in 2024, but progress towards launch has been slow since then due to licensing issues.
Eris stands as Australia's best bet at making a name for itself on the cosmic stage, but plenty of hurdles remain.
After a number of regulatory delays, the launch of Eris was scheduled for March 15, 2025. But that day came and went, despite CASA approval, as the required approvals were still not available from the Australian Space Agency. Delays have taken a toll on Gilmour Space's financial situation, making it harder for the company to raise additional funds. Realism prevails, with founder Adam Gilmour telling the Sydney Morning Herald that he doesn't expect to reach orbit on the first attempt. "It's very hard to test an orbital rocket without just flying it," he said. "We don't have high expectations we'll get to orbit... I'd personally be happy to get off the pad."
Despite the challenges, Eris represents Australia's best shot at taking its place among the nations that have leapt beyond the ground and into the cosmos. government approvals and technical hurdles still need to be overcome before Australia can join that exclusive club, but it's a goal that Australia has been steadily working towards for many years now. Fingers are crossed that it will happen soon. ***
Enrichment Data:- Australia aims to conduct its first homegrown orbital space launch with the support of Gilmour Space Technologies through the Eris rocket.- Eris is a three-stage vehicle designed to launch small satellites into low-Earth orbit, comparable to Rocket Lab’s Electron in terms of capabilities.- The launch from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport isn't expected until license conditions are met and any technical issues are resolved, with the mission tentatively scheduled for mid-2025.- Gilmour Space Technologies is targeting the growing demand for small satellite launches by capitalizing on its ability to deliver rapid deployment of satellites into low orbit.
With the Eris rocket, Gilmour Space Technologies aims to spearhead Australia's entry into the realm of space-and-astronomy, pushing the boundaries in technology and space- exploration.
The successful launch of Eris will not only mark a significant step forward for the local space industry but also propel Australia into the exclusive club of nations with successful orbital space launches.
