Maiden launch of Australia's Gilmour Eris-1 Rocket a Partial Success

On July 30, 2025 Gilmour Space conducted the maiden test launch of its 23m tall, 30 tonne, Eris-1 rocket with 23 seconds of engine burn time and 14 seconds of flight. See video here and above.

It appears one of four of rocket motors propelling the first stage failed to reach full power. So Eris-1 didn't have sufficient thrust to fully take off. Instead, after clearing the launch pad it hovered, drifted, then crashed. The crash may have been due to gravity and/or the launch safety officer induced the crash to avoid more potentially dangerous hover-drifting.

So the launch from northern Queensland Australia of this ICBM size, dual-use capable, rocket was a partial success. This is even though its aim of using its 3 stages to go into orbit did not work the first time. Launch companies learn from what goes wrong.

CEO Adam Gilmour said in February 2025 that it was “almost unheard of” for a private rocket company to successfully launch to orbit on its first attempt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmour_Space_Technologies#Eris-1_(Orbital_rocket)

For comparison see other, also real, launch failures in the early US space program from the great film, The Right Stuff  here and below.