Launch delayed to no earlier than mid July.https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/launch/6223-gilmour-launch-on-hold-as-wait-continues-for-permitGilmour launch on hold as wait continues for permitAdam Thorn27 May 2024Gilmour now believes the first launch of its Eris rocket is unlikely to take place before mid-July.
Quote from: Steven Pietrobon on 05/28/2024 08:45 amLaunch delayed to no earlier than mid July.https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/launch/6223-gilmour-launch-on-hold-as-wait-continues-for-permitGilmour launch on hold as wait continues for permitAdam Thorn27 May 2024Gilmour now believes the first launch of its Eris rocket is unlikely to take place before mid-July.Interesting that the rocket pictured that article looks nothing like the Eris rocket in their launch site pics.. What gives?
‘What if a cruise ship got in the way?’ Rocket wrapped in red tapeGilmour Space Technologies, a Gold Coast start-up that designs and builds rockets to carry satellites into orbit, had planned to test-launch its first rocket in early April. But the launch has been bogged down in regulatory paperwork, and might not take place for another six or eight weeks, said CEO and co-founder Adam Gilmour.Speaking at The Australian Financial Review Entrepreneur Summit, Mr Gilmour said the Australian Space Agency had never had to manage such a launch before and kept asking questions “you wouldn’t believe”. “Like, what if a cruise ship comes out of Hawaii and goes in the path of the rocket as it’s going up [from the North Queensland coast]? And how are we not going to hit the International Space Station?” he said...........“We’re not expecting it will go to orbit. But anything in the zip code for 30, 40 seconds will give us a lot of data,” Mr Gilmour said.“We have 400 sensors on the rocket and five different cameras. And so if we can get 30, 40 seconds of flight, we would have validated our guidance, navigation and control, all our launch procedures, and the rocket engines will have to be burning in sync with each other.“That would give us confidence that on the next launch, we will get to orbit.”
The criticism comes despite Gilmour receiving millions in grants, including $52 million from the federal government to lead a space manufacturing network in Australia.
Quote‘What if a cruise ship got in the way?’ Rocket wrapped in red tapeGilmour Space Technologies, a Gold Coast start-up that designs and builds rockets to carry satellites into orbit, had planned to test-launch its first rocket in early April. But the launch has been bogged down in regulatory paperwork, and might not take place for another six or eight weeks, said CEO and co-founder Adam Gilmour.Speaking at The Australian Financial Review Entrepreneur Summit, Mr Gilmour said the Australian Space Agency had never had to manage such a launch before and kept asking questions “you wouldn’t believe”. “Like, what if a cruise ship comes out of Hawaii and goes in the path of the rocket as it’s going up [from the North Queensland coast]? And how are we not going to hit the International Space Station?” he said...........“We’re not expecting it will go to orbit. But anything in the zip code for 30, 40 seconds will give us a lot of data,” Mr Gilmour said.“We have 400 sensors on the rocket and five different cameras. And so if we can get 30, 40 seconds of flight, we would have validated our guidance, navigation and control, all our launch procedures, and the rocket engines will have to be burning in sync with each other.“That would give us confidence that on the next launch, we will get to orbit.”https://www.afr.com/technology/what-if-a-cruise-ship-got-in-the-way-rocket-wrapped-in-red-tape-20240625-p5jogeI'm not quite sure why he thought it would be easy or quick to get permits given the well-documented experiences of SL and ELA (especially if they say they'd be happy with only 30-40 seconds of flight which presumably would dump it somewhere near the Outer Reef!) - but I'm glad to hear they haven't given up, since each day of delay must be costing them and their backers a small fortune.Edit to add:QuoteThe criticism comes despite Gilmour receiving millions in grants, including $52 million from the federal government to lead a space manufacturing network in Australia.https://www.spaceconnectonline.com.au/industry/6250-space-agency-worried-our-rocket-could-hit-a-ship-says-gilmour
“Like, what if a cruise ship comes out of Hawaii and goes in the path of the rocket as it’s going up [from the North Queensland coast]? And how are we not going to hit the International Space Station?” he said.Seems like knowing anything about space or basic orbital dynamics isn't requirement to work for ASA. Gilmour isn't first new space company to underestimate bureauracy. Space maybe hard but its got nothing on bureauracy.
