Australia’s Gilmour Space prepares Eris 1 rocket for maiden launch

Gilmour Space Technologies (Queensland, Australia), a venture-funded company supporting the deployment of a low-cost launch vehicle, is targeting a mid-May launch date for what Aviation Week cites as the “first-ever Australian-made orbital rocket” Eris 1.

Gilmour previously announced an early timeline in February 2025 following final airspace approvals from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and Airservices Australia, clearing the last regulatory hurdle before launch. In March 2024 its Bowen Orbital Spaceport was granted the first orbital launch facility license in Australia, followed by securing a Launch Permit for Eris TestFlight 1 in November 2024. The launch will culminate years of R&D and manufacturing of the 82-foot-tall launch vehicle at Bowen in North Queensland.

“This will be the first attempt of an Australian rocket to reach orbit from Australian soil,” says Adam Gilmour, co-founder and CEO of Gilmour Space, stressing that this is “the road we must take to build sovereign space capability.” The company is backed by private investors including Blackbird, Main Sequence, Fine Structure Ventures, Queensland Investment Corp. and superannuation funds like HESTA, Hostplus and NGS Super. 

Eris, using proprietary hybrid rocket technology, is capable of launching satellites into orbit. It will deliver up to 305 kilograms to low-Earth orbit. Gilmour Space did not comment on its use of composite materials, but it is clear that its rockets — whether currently or in the future  — will use composites to some capacity. For example, in 2018 the company signed a long-term collaboration and supply agreement with Beyond Gravity to explore the use of its range of FlexLine carbon fiber composite products in Gilmour’s rocket platforms. In addition, a couple of years ago Gilmour Space made a LinkedIn post showing off flight nozzles designed and manufactured in-house that were made of composites, capable of withstanding temperatures over 2500℃ for full-mission duration.

Learn more about Gilmour Space and its manufacturing facility at the video below.