Above is Gilmour Space's Eris-1 rocket at the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in Queensland, Australia. A rocket that size has long range dual-use missile potential. The photo from Gilmour's February 3, 2025 Media Release.
See APDR for "Gilmour Space Technologies has announced a launch window starting ‘no earlier than’ March 15 [2025] for the maiden flight of Eris, the first Australian-designed and built rocket aiming for orbit. The news follows final airspace approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and Airservices Australia, clearing the last regulatory hurdle before launch."
The launch will take place from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in far north Queensland, Australia.
Why the delay?
- The launch was delayed to allow for additional testing and verification
https://www.innovationaus.com/countdown-gilmour-space-closes-in-on-testflight-one-mission/ - The company wanted to give its team a break over Christmas 2024.
- The company wanted to ensure mission safety and success
About the Eris-1 rocket
- The Eris-1 is a small orbital launch vehicle that can carry payloads of up to 305 kg into low earth orbit [scroll down here https://www.gspace.com/launch ]
- It has three stages and uses hybrid propulsion technologies
- The Eris-1 is 23 meters in length and has a mass of 34 tonnes at lift off
About the launch permit
- The Australian Government issued Gilmour Space Technologies with an Australian launch permit in November 2024 https://spacenews.com/gilmore-space-secures-license-for-first-orbital-launch/
- This permit is the first ever issued by the Australian Government for a commercial orbital launch vehicle
Pete Comment
It is probably just coincidental that the 2m diameter of Eris-1's first (ie. lowest) stage (scroll down here) is almost identical to the 2.11 diameter of the first stage of a Trident II submarine launched ballistic missile (see right sidebar).
No comments:
Post a Comment