The first Australian-designed and manufactured rocket has barely made it past the launch tower, exploding on liftoff near Bowen in north Queensland.
Gilmour Space’s rocket, the Eris 1, lifted off shortly after 8.30am on Wednesday.
YouTuber Josh Keegan, also known as Aussienaut, filmed footage of the explosion from a vantage point on nearby Mount Nutt.
“OK, we’re going, we’re going … it’s going,” Keegan commentated as the rocket took off from its launch-pad.
Within seconds, it was clear its momentum had faltered. “It’s hovering, it’s hovering,” Keegan continued. “It’s gone. Oh, no. It didn’t go.”
Michelle Gilmour, the company’s director of marketing and communications, could barely be heard over the din of celebration at the company’s base.
Before the test-flight, Gilmour had set a target of simply getting off the launch-pad.
“We’re happy, all considered. We know what happened. Unfortunately it was an old rocket – it’s been sitting on the pad for 18 months. So this was always likely. But this is good.”
She said the company would have more to say within the next few hours about the case of the explosion and the next steps.
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