Australia is known for great beaches, top-tier coffee, and a laidback approach to life that really doesn’t square with all the rules and regulations that exist Down Under. What it isn’t known for is being a spacefaring nation.

As it stands, a startup called Gilmour Space has been making great efforts to give Australia the orbital launch capability it’s never had. After numerous hurdles and delays, the company finally got their rocket off the launch pad. Unfortunately, it just didn’t get much farther than that.

You Will Not Go To Space Today

Gilmour Space was founded back in 2013, and established its rocketry program two years later. The company has a straightforward mission—it aims to provide Australian-made launch vehicles for putting satellites into orbit. Over the past decade, the company has been working hard on establishing a spaceport and building a series of ever-larger rockets, inching its way towards its stated goal.

The company aims to reach space with the Eris rocket. The 23-meter-long, 30-tonne vehicle came about after years of engineering work, and stands as Australia’s only realistic bid to join the exclusive club of nations capable of orbital launches. The three-stage rocket uses four hybrid rocket motors in the first stage, one in the second stage, and a liquid rocket engine in the third stage. It’s intended to carry payloads up to 300 kg into orbit. The Eris was first assembled and staged on the company’s launch pad in Bowen, Queensland, in early 2024, and even fully fueled up for a dress rehearsal in September last year. However, local aviation authority CASA was not yet satisfied with preparations, and had not provided the required permits for launch. Since then, the wait has continued, with an expected launch date in March 2025 passing by without fanfare. Even with CASA approval, the Australian Space Agency was still not satisfied with Gilmour’s preparations.

Ultimately, the company would wait long eighteen months for complete regulatory approval to launch their Eris rocket from the Bowen orbital spaceport. Ultimately, everything finally fell into place, with the company set to launch on July 30.

The launch began as so many do, with smoke billowing from the pad as the four first-stage rocket motors ignited.  Seconds later, Eris began to inch into the sky… only to falter at low altitude. Having barely cleared the top of the launch structure, the rocket began to fall back to Earth, toppling over sideways while creating a relatively small fireball in its failure. One presumes the payload—a jar of Vegimite sandwich spread—was lost.

Speaking after the event to ABC News, Gilmour Space founder Adam Gilmour speculated as to what happened. “From the videos, it looks like we lost one of the main engines a few seconds into the flight,” he stated. “I’m hoping the next rocket goes to orbit, and if it does, then the next rocket after that will be our first commercial one that takes satellites up.”

It may not have been much to look at, but the company was nonetheless positive about finally making forward steps towards its eventual goal. “Today, Eris became the first Australian made orbital launch vehicle to lift off from Australian soil — achieving around 14 seconds of flight,” stated the company. “For a maiden test flight, this is a strong result and a major step forward for Australia’s sovereign space capability.” Gilmour Space noted its multiple successes—all four rocket engines igniting successfully, the rocket clearing the tower, and the positive operation of its flight software and control systems. While the launch failed to get far off the pad—for reasons yet to be fully determined—the company was ultimately upbeat, and looks towards its second test flight of the Eris rocket.

Indeed, this result has long been expected by Gilmour Space founder, Adam Gilmour. In interviews earlier this year, he noted that the complexities of large scale rocketry meant he didn’t expect grand achievements from the first test flight. “It’s very hard to test an orbital rocket without just flying it,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald in March this year. “We don’t have high expectations we’ll get to orbit… I’d personally be happy to get off the pad.”

Gilmour Space still has a long way to go to reach orbit—roughly 100 km or so, given the rocket only just got off the pad. Still, it’s hardly the first space program to face early failures on its way to the heavens. If anything, the test launch actually happening has reignited interest in the project, bringing renewed attention to the Australian effort to finally join the space club.