First Australian-made rocket crashes after 14 seconds in orbital launch attempt - VIDEO
Australia’s first domestically designed and manufactured orbital launch vehicle crashed just 14 seconds after liftoff on Wednesday in a highly anticipated test flight.
The 23-meter (75-foot) Eris rocket, built by Gilmour Space Technologies, lifted off from a spaceport near Bowen in Queensland state but fell out of sight shortly after clearing the launch tower. Videos shared by Australian media showed the rocket briefly hovering before plummeting back down. No injuries were reported, and the launch site remained intact, News.Az reports, citing AP News.
❌#Australia’s first domestically designed and manufactured orbital launch vehicle crashed just 14 seconds after liftoff on Wednesday in a highly anticipated test flight pic.twitter.com/MiB38koOx9
— News.Az (@news_az) July 30, 2025
Despite the failure to reach orbit, Gilmour Space hailed the launch as a key milestone. “Of course I would have liked more flight time but happy with this,” CEO Adam Gilmour wrote on LinkedIn, noting the rocket’s four hybrid-propelled engines ignited successfully. The maiden flight recorded 23 seconds of engine burn time and 14 seconds of airborne flight.
The launch marked Australia’s first orbital launch attempt in more than five decades. While the country has hosted hundreds of suborbital launches, there have only been two successful orbital missions from its soil to date, according to NASASpaceFlight.
Gilmour Space had previously scrubbed scheduled launches in May and earlier this month due to technical issues and bad weather. The company said its primary goal for the test flight was simply to leave the launchpad—a benchmark it achieved.
The Queensland-based firm, which is backed by private investors, recently received a AU$5 million ($3.2 million) federal grant to develop the Eris rocket. This follows a AU$52 million grant awarded in 2023 to help commercialize space technologies in Australia.
Local leaders called the attempt an important step forward for the country’s space ambitions. “This is an important first step towards the giant leap of a future commercial space industry right here in our region,” Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Ry Collins said.
Gilmour Space said it will analyze the data from the test flight to improve future launches.
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