By BlueShift and AFP | 2025-05-20

Australian aerospace firm Gilmour Space Technologies is undeterred by its failure to launch last week.

The company on May 16 decided to scrub a historic attempt to send a locally developed rocket into orbit, citing a glitch in the nose cone.

An electrical fault erroneously deployed the opening mechanism of the carbon-fiber nose cone during preflight testing, the company said.

The nose cone is designed to shield the payload during the rocket's ascent through the Earth's atmosphere before reaching space.

The mishap happened before fueling of the vehicle at the company's spaceport near the east coast township of Bowen, about 1,000km north of the Queensland capital Brisbane.

The company had to delay a launch attempt the previous day, too, because of a bug in the external power system it relies on for system checks.

"The good news is the rocket and the team are both fine," Chief Executive Adam Gilmour said in a statement. "While we're disappointed by the delay, we're already working through a resolution and expect to be back on the pad soon."

"As always, safety is our highest priority."

Gilmour said the team would now work to identify the problem on its 23-meter-long, three-stage Eris rocket, which is designed to send satellites into low-Earth orbit.

A replacement nose cone would be transported to the launch site in the coming days, he said.

Weighing 30 tons fully fueled, the rocket has a hybrid propulsion system, using a solid inert fuel and a liquid oxidizer, which provides the oxygen for it to burn.

'Used to setbacks'

Gilmour Space Technologies, which has 230 employees, hopes to start commercial launches in late 2026 or early 2027.

It has worked on rocket development for a decade and is backed by investors including venture capital group Blackbird and pension fund HESTA.

"We have all worked really hard so, yes, the team is disappointed. But on the other hand, we do rockets -- they are used to setbacks," said spokeswoman Michelle Gilmour.

"We are talking about at least a few weeks, so it is not going to happen now," she told AFP.

The payload for the initial test -- a jar of Vegemite -- remained intact.

"It's hardy, resilient, like Aussies," she said.

If successful, Eris would be the first Australian-made rocket to be sent into orbit from Australian soil.

If it orbits Earth "I would probably have a heart attack, actually, because I'll be so surprised, but deliriously happy," Adam Gilmour told AFP last week before the scrapped test flights.

"We're going to be happy if it gets off the pad -- 10, 20, 30 seconds of flight time: fantastic. So orbit is just not in the realm of my belief right now, even though it's theoretically possible."

'Not just a supporting player'

Australia has a long history of playing a supporting role in space endeavors, including helping NASA bring live television images of the first moonwalk to the world in 1969.

Gilmour Space Technologies has the motivation to help Australia play a leading role in space exploration, according to Rebecca Allen, co-director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University of Technology.

"We have real expertise in designing and manufacturing aerospace vehicles, and I think it's a chance to demonstrate that Australia is not just a supporting player," Allen told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC News).

Whether or not the Eris rocket makes it into orbit, its development shows that Australia is taking major strides in designing and building rockets, she said.

Eris represents a major milestone for Australia's space industry and an opportunity to develop an ambitious and future-focused space policy, said Dan Lloyd, chief executive of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA).

"The industry is building to a critical mass," he told ABC News.

"There's a huge opportunity to clarify where Australia wants to place its bets, because there are some terrific bets to be placed."