Gilmour Space Technologies has announced a launch window starting no earlier than March 15, 2025, for the maiden flight of Eris, the first Australian-designed and built rocket aiming for orbit.
The news follows final airspace approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Airservices Australia, clearing the last regulatory hurdle before launch. It also marks the culmination of years of work by the Gold Coast-based company, which developed the Eris launch vehicle and Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland.
“This will be the first attempt of an Australian rocket to reach orbit from Australian soil,” said Gilmour Space CEO Adam Gilmour.
Gilmour said it is important to understand that delays or scrubs are a normal part of rocket launches. These can last anywhere from hours to days, or even weeks, and are often caused by weather conditions, technical issues, or other factors. “Safety is always the top priority,” he said. “We’ll only launch when we’re ready, and when conditions are appropriate.”
He added that the first launch is always the hardest. Reaching orbit is a highly complex engineering challenge, and every successful rocket company has faced setbacks in their early attempts. SpaceX, for one, did it on their fourth attempt.
“It’s almost unheard of for a private rocket company to launch successfully to orbit the first time,” Gilmour said. “Whether we make it off the pad, reach max Q, or get all the way to space, 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.”
But he said this is the pathway to building the sovereign space capability that’s critical for Australia’s future. Launching Australian-owned and controlled rockets from home soil means more high-tech jobs, greater security, economic growth, and technological independence.
“Only six countries in the world are launching regularly to space using their own technology, and Australia could soon be one of them,” Gilmour said.
The company is backed by private investors, including Blackbird, Main Sequence, Fine Structure Ventures, Queensland Investment Corporation, and superannuation funds like HESTA, Hostplus, and NGS Super.
