First Australian-made rocket Eris crashes 14 seconds after launch

The first ever Australian-built rocket was launched from Australian soil in a history-making moment for homegrown space exploration.

At about 8.30am on Wednesday, Gilmour Space Technologies launched its first orbital rocket*, Eris, from Bowen in North Queensland.

It recorded 14 seconds of history-making flight before crashing back to the ground – a move anticipated by the team as a first step in the process of launching the rocket for the first time.

Footage released by Gilmour Space Technologies shows the rocket lift into the air, hovering in the same place for several moments before slowly collapsing back to the ground.

“Awesome result for a first test launch,” the company wrote online.

Speaking to The Courier-Mail, co-founder and chief executive officer Adam Gilmour said he was “happy” with the test flight result.

The rocket had been sitting at the spaceport for more than a year, with numerous attempts to launch made in early 2025.

However, previous test flight attempts were postponed due to external factors, including strong winds and technical issues.

“The rocket wasn’t designed to (sit in one spot), and we wanted to get off the pad at minimum,” he told the outlet.

“We had all four engines fire off nicely, we avoided the pad, the rocket is off the pad now and no visible damage to the pad.”

Mr Gilmour said since the rocket avoided landing on the pad, the company would likely be able to launch a second test flight in about six months.

Online, the Gilmour Space Technologies crew said the test flight was a “big step for (Australian) launch capability*”.

“Team safe, data in hand, eyes on Test Flight 2,” the post read.

Mr Gilmour said it was “almost unheard of” for a private company to launch a rocket ship to orbit the first time around.

“What’s important is that every second of flight will deliver valuable data that will improve our rocket’s reliability and performance for future launches,” he said.

THE NEW SPACE RACE
You may have heard of the Space Race (1957-1969), when the USA and the Soviet Union* (USSR) competed for a presence in space, launching the world’s first ever satellites and sending the first human missions to space and the moon.

More recently, another space race has begun – but this one involves more than 80 countries, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. While the three main countries involved are the US, China and Russia, other countries also have a presence in space.

“The rest of the nations know they can’t compete with the Big Three, but they still want to have a say in what goes up and what comes down; they are assessing their options and aligning* into ‘space blocs*’,” the museum’s site states.

Part of the space race has been driven by private companies.

Gilmour Space Technologies has become the first ever Australian company to launch a rocket from Australia, but there are plenty of other private companies that have made it into space, such as Space X, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.

MAIN PLAYERS IN THE SPACE RACE
According to Space Insider, there are 16 space agencies across the world that are able to launch their own rockets into space and only a handful of these have been able to send humans to space.

• USA (NASA) – NASA is the only space agency in the world to have sent astronauts to walk on the moon.
• RUSSIA (Roscosmos) – One of four government agencies to have sent humans into space, Russia was also the first to have launched a satellite (Sputnik 1) when the country was part of the USSR.

• CHINA (CNSA) – Like the US and Russia, China has also launched humans into space, landed on the moon and completed missions to Mars.
• EUROPEAN UNION (ESA) – The ESA has launched rockets into space and completed missions to Mars while also overseeing the Euclid* space telescope
• INDIA (ISRO) – India has landed on the moon and completed a mission to Mars and it is planning its first human mission in 2026.
• JAPAN (JAXA) – Japan has had a space program for more than 50 years. JAXA has launched humans into space and has completed missions to Mars.
• SPACE X – A private US company owned by Elon Musk, Space X has reshaped space travel with its reusable rockets and is one of a few companies that are paving the start of space tourism. Space X is even being used by NASA for its missions

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POLL

GLOSSARY

• orbital rocket: a projectile pushed upwards by the combustion of propellants in the engine of the rocket which causes hot gases to be blown through its nozzle at high speed. This whole process lifts the rocket from the ground, producing the thrust needed to carry it high into the air to escape Earth’s gravity and travel through space
• launch capability: the ability to build and launch rockets
• Soviet Union (USSR): a communist country that existed from 1922 to 1991 made up of 15 republics, with the largest and most powerful the Russian republic. Other countries included Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania and Belarus
• aligning: coming together with common goals
• space blocs: groupings of nations with common goals when it comes to space exploration
• Euclid: a telescope designed to explore dark matter and dark energy

EXTRA READING
Historic Aussie rocket launch holds
Katy Perry to rocket into space
NASA blasts off to Jupiter’s moon

QUICK QUIZ
1. What is the name of the Australian company that launched the first Australian-built rocket?
2. Where was it launched from?
3. How long did it stay in the air for?
4. How many countries have sent humans into space?
5. Which country launched the world’s first satellite?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. How does it happen?
Do you know how a rocket is launched into space? Create a diagram that will help other kids understand the steps and equipment that make a launch possible. Use your research skills if you need to find out!

Time: allow at least 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Design and Technologies

2. Extension
Why is it so hard for companies like Gilmour Space Technologies to launch a rocket into orbit the first time around? Brainstorm as many ideas as you can. Use information from the story to help you.

Time: allow at least 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Design and Technologies

VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.