History made as Aussie rocket launches – then crashes

An Australian-made rocket has made history by launching from home soil for the first time before crashing seconds later.

Gilmour Space Technologies has hailed its rocket’s 14-second flight in far north Queensland a success, calling it a “major step forward”.

The 23-metre, 35-tonne orbital rocket named Eris, took off from a spaceport at Bowen on Wednesday morning.

It left the launch pad into the air shortly after 8.30am. Plumes of smoke erupted from underneath the rocket as it hovered in the air briefly and then crashed into the ground nearby.

The Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space Technologies confirmed Eris was the first rocket to lift off from Australian soil, achieving 14 seconds of flight.

“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,” it said on Facebook.

“Most importantly, the team is safe and energised for test flight two.

“Only six nations launch to orbit regularly — and just a handful are working to join them. Today brings Australia closer to that club.”

The company confirmed the ignition of all four rocket engines with 23 seconds of engine burn time.

Aafter lift-off from the spaceport, the rocket cleared the tower before crashing, it said.

Early indications also suggest the launch site infrastructure remained intact.

The company previously said it would deem the launch a success if the rocket left the ground.

“It’s almost unheard of for a private rocket company to launch successfully to orbit the first time,” chief executive Adam Gilmour said in February.

“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 launch has been delayed on multiple occasions this year due to weather conditions and technical issues.

As late as Tuesday afternoon, it was only 10 minutes from launching when proceedings were brought to a halt by high winds that were “above the safety commit limits set by regulators”.

Gilmour Space Technologies was recently awarded a $5 million federal government grant to assist with the launch. It has also received $52 million in Commonwealth funding to lead a space manufacturing network in Australia.

-AAP