Adam Gilmour says Eris is the first locally made rocket to be launched into space from Australian soil. (Supplied: Gilmour Space)
"The only thing we're waiting on is approvals from the Australian Space Agency which we think are coming soon."
It has been in production since Gilmour's rocket program began in 2015.
Weighing more than 30 tonnes and measuring 25 metres
...working towards an official launch in April.
Mr Gilmour said the investment would allow his team to make at least four launch attempts, but he expected the first trials might not reach orbit.
Gold Coast-based company Gilmour Space said it was a month away from the first rehearsal launch in the north Queensland town of Bowen.
The project has been delivered a major boost after raising $55 million from investors including Queensland Investment Corporation and superannuation firms Hostplus and HESTA.
QuoteMr Gilmour said the investment would allow his team to make at least four launch attempts, but he expected the first trials might not reach orbit.Interesting. So they've basically set themselves the Falcon 1 bar, we'll see if they're able to meet that objective.
Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 08/12/2023 05:07 amTheir website now says"Gilmour Space's innovative Eris orbital launch vehicles will deliver up to 305 kg to LEO with a first commercial launch expected in 2023/2024."The only surprise is that anyone is surprised.Gilmour's June 2022 accounts show they burned half their mid-2021 AU$61m / US$46m raise* by mid-2022, so they had burned around AU$30m that year, with approx. AU$30m of the investment income left at that point. Today it's one year later, and they have probably burned at least that much again, if not more, so how much money does the company have in the bank in mid-2023? The capital they raised in mid-2021 will be gone if the spending was at that same rate, and the same document states they had 165 employees in June 2021, so that gives some idea of the burn rate - about AU$17m annually on salaries alone.They do get Australian R&D tax credits at a rate of about 40% of expenses, and possibly some grants, so maybe they have about $25m-$30m left in the tank, mostly refunds from those tax credits and whatever grants are left.But without fresh capital to spend on R&D those R&D tax credits will dry up, leaving them with no money once that remaining cash has gone. Plus, building these things always takes longer than startups think, and as they step into the final stages the need for more money, more people etc climbs dramatically. So two conclusions: 1) that they will be raising AU$50m-100m around now, which is a tough sell when even your home space agency has pulled out of supporting the sector, and doing so in a tricky/sceptical funding environment. 2) they are probably conserving / stretching the remaining cash they have, and thus delaying anything expensive until they can afford to do it, hence new dates - which will probably be unrealistic until they have more fresh capital to deploy reliably.*https://spacenews.com/gilmour-space-raises-46-million-for-small-launch-vehicle/
Their website now says"Gilmour Space's innovative Eris orbital launch vehicles will deliver up to 305 kg to LEO with a first commercial launch expected in 2023/2024."
Note that this isn't the first Australian made rocket to reach space (defined as going above 100 km). That honour goes to Long Tom, first launched in October 1957. Long Tom could reach 120 km, but was built using British surplus Mayfly motors (three motors in the first stage and one motor in the second stage). The all-Australian two stage Kookaburra 2 sounding rocket reached 121 km in 1973, if you want to exclude foreign motors from the criteria.http://www.astronautix.com/k/kookaburra2.html
Strange choice of names. If I was to build a rocket, I'd call it YBR-1, for you bloody ripper 1. Hmm or maybe ARRS-1 for A real rip snorter 1.
Gilmour so far has only published hilarious nonsense launch dates. Now that they say April 2024, I can hardly believe that this is a true schedule (though this date may have helped raising funds).Is there any indication that they have tested and qualified rocket stages? This is a process which usually takes > 1 year, starting with first hot-fire of the upper stage.
Do you think this rocket in the picture is not flight hardware?
I have no hard evidence for believing this, but there are indicators - like these notorious BS launch dates, overall unprofessional appearence, and where are the stage tests? With best wishes to all Aussie space enthusiasts that I am sensing wrong here.
https://twitter.com/AusSpaceAgency/status/1765172182022578459Still waiting on a launch permit for their first test flight.
I don’t know enough about historical rocketry to be able to understand the full implications of the hybrid rocket motor as it relates to engine testing and stage qualification. Hybrid meaning LOX plus a “proprietary 3D printed solid rocket fuel”. My understanding is that the point is to have the isp of solid rockets but the throttleability of liquid rockets. But maybe it comes with some of the downsides of solids too.
I am also curious if hybrid thruster designs present different options for in space propulsion. Would be cool if solid cartridges of fuel could be shipped as payloads in missions where isru is planned. Then you only have to worry about making the LOX.
I wouldn’t read too much into the “unprofessional appearance”. We Aussies do love keeping it casual.
Quote from: Int.RocketLaunches on 03/06/2024 01:52 amStill waiting on a launch permit for their first test flight.The paperwork quite often is long pole in space programs. Government departments need to make it look complicated to justify their large headcounts and budgets.
Still waiting on a launch permit for their first test flight.
The paperwork quite often is long pole in space programs. Government departments need to make it look complicated to justify their large headcounts and budgets.
I'm pretty sure the "3D printed grain" was nothing more than a differentiator for marketing purposes. And I'm not sure if they're still doing that?
I don't know it for a fact, but I've been told that breaking the Karman line in Australia without prior governmental approval is a criminal offence with jail time expected.
