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7/31/2025, 2:39:37 PM
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/07/australias-first-orbital-class-rocket-didnt-make-it-far-off-the-launch-pad/
>The long wait for regulatory approval from the Australian government may have been a contributing factor in the outcome of the test flight, according to Gilmour. The company rolled the Eris rocket to the launch pad for prelaunch testing in April 2024, but it took more than a year to secure the go-ahead from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Space Agency to launch. "We had to wait 18 months to get the regulatory approval to launch with the rocket finished," Gilmour said. When it wasn't on the launch pad for testing, the rocket was stored horizontally inside a hangar about a mile from the beach, at risk to corrosive damage from salt air. "I was just getting more and more concerned that the rocket was getting old," Gilmour said. "We had to replace a lot of things on it during testing, and we were just getting very nervous that the longer we waited, the worse that would get. So for that old vehicle to get off the pad, to clear the tower, to clear the launch pad before it went out, I'm really happy with that."
>The second Eris rocket is in production at the company's headquarters in Gold Coast, Queensland. Gilmour said the structure of the next rocket is complete, but engineers waited to build the engines until they saw how the first rocket performed. "I'm glad [we did that] because they failed," Gilmour said. "So, I'm going to be doing a few more engine tests before I chuck more into the rocket. I'm estimating that will take about another six months to finish the build, and then we've got to test it for another month or so. So I'm looking for a January, February launch for the second one."
>The long wait for regulatory approval from the Australian government may have been a contributing factor in the outcome of the test flight, according to Gilmour. The company rolled the Eris rocket to the launch pad for prelaunch testing in April 2024, but it took more than a year to secure the go-ahead from Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Space Agency to launch. "We had to wait 18 months to get the regulatory approval to launch with the rocket finished," Gilmour said. When it wasn't on the launch pad for testing, the rocket was stored horizontally inside a hangar about a mile from the beach, at risk to corrosive damage from salt air. "I was just getting more and more concerned that the rocket was getting old," Gilmour said. "We had to replace a lot of things on it during testing, and we were just getting very nervous that the longer we waited, the worse that would get. So for that old vehicle to get off the pad, to clear the tower, to clear the launch pad before it went out, I'm really happy with that."
>The second Eris rocket is in production at the company's headquarters in Gold Coast, Queensland. Gilmour said the structure of the next rocket is complete, but engineers waited to build the engines until they saw how the first rocket performed. "I'm glad [we did that] because they failed," Gilmour said. "So, I'm going to be doing a few more engine tests before I chuck more into the rocket. I'm estimating that will take about another six months to finish the build, and then we've got to test it for another month or so. So I'm looking for a January, February launch for the second one."
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