Australia’s history-making Eris rocket launch delayed in QLD

UPDATE
The Australian launch of the locally-made Eris rocket has been delayed  again on Friday morning, with no new date confirmed as yet for its next launch attempt.

Gilmour Space Technologies announced on its website that an "unexpected issue" had accidentally triggered the system that opens the rocket's nose cone.

“Our team encountered the issue before fuelling and liftoff, which is exactly what ground testing is meant to do,” said company CEO Adam Gilmour. “The good news is the rocket and the team are both fine. While we're disappointed by the delay, we’re already working through a resolution and expect to be back on the pad soon.”

Thee launch will be now be delayed by at least a few weeks. A new target launch window will be announced once confirmed.

AUSTRALIA'S HISTORIC ROCKET LAUNCH DELAYED BY A DAY
Australia’s historic rocket launch could blast off as early as Friday morning after a day’s delay.

The launch by Gilmour Space Technologies is set to fire off its Eris rocket from a launch pad in North Queensland.

In a post shared online, the company said the team “identified an issue in the ground support system*” during an overnight check and would require further inspections … Our next target is the Friday morning launch window. Stay tuned for updates.”

The company designed and built the three-stage rocket at its Gold Coast factory. If the launch goes ahead, it would mark the country’s first ever rocket to shoot for the stars.

Gilmour received final approvals for launch from the Australian Space Agency and CASA last week and now has a lift-off window* from Thursday 7.30am AEST through to Sunday.

Mission control is housed in a donga* about 7km outside Bowen in Queensland’s Whitsunday region.

Gilmour Space co-founder and CEO Adam Gilmour told NewsWire he planned to celebrate a successful launch.

“I think it will be like winning an Olympic gold medal,” he said.

“I think I’ll be extremely happy, and I’ll give my brother a big hug.”

Mr Gilmour and his brother James founded the Gold Coast company in 2015 to raise Australia’s space capability* and compete with American giants like Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Eris is designed to send small satellites into low Earth orbits* for commercial and government customers.

It is unlikely, however, that the maiden launch will achieve orbit.

Mr Gilmour said key metrics for success were getting the rocket off the pad, then flight time, with 10 seconds a crucial marker.

“That’s like winning a soccer match one-nil,” he said.

“Two-nil is 30 seconds, and all the way to first stage is three-nil, and then it just gets better from there.”

No space company has successfully entered orbit on its first launch attempt.

SpaceX achieved orbit on its fourth attempt in September 2008.

Mr Gilmour said the company hoped to reach orbit on its third attempt.

MULTIPLE FACTORS COULD FURTHER DELAY THE LAUNCH
Strong winds, for one, could further delay the event, currently postponed to Friday morning at the earliest.

“The weather forecast looks really good … to Sunday,” Mr Gilmour said.

“We’re going to give it a good crack.”

A jar of vegemite and a camera will ride on the rocket.

The company raised $55 million last year to build and test Eris.

The launch won’t be livestreamed but Kids News will update this story.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• ground support system: all the services and activities on the ground that provide the safe, efficient operation of the rocket at launch
• lift-off window: the time period in which a particular mission must be launched
• mission control: the group of people on Earth who are in charge of a flight by a spacecraft, or the place where these people work
• donga: a temporary and usually transportable building, like a demountable 
• capability: power, capacity, being able to do something
• orbit: to follow a curved path around a planet or star

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QUICK QUIZ

1. Where in Australia will the Eris rocket launch take place?
2. When does the launch window close?
3. What are the key metrics for the maiden launch for Gilmour Space Technologies co-founder Adam Gilmour?
4. How many space companies have successfully reached orbit on their first attempt?
5. What is the very Aussie item that will ride on the rocket?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What would Adam think?
Imagine that you are Adam Gilmour. Write a detailed description of how you feel and what you are thinking during the final moments before the launch of the rocket.

Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
Do you know how three-stage rockets are launched into space? If not, use your research skills to find out. Use the information to create a diagram that will help younger kids understand exactly how rockets are launched and why it is so challenging to get them into orbit.

Time: allow at least 60 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.