After an agonising wait of many months, Australian space launch company, Gilmour Space Technologies, has been granted the country’s first-ever orbital launch permit.
The company plans to conduct the maiden launch of its Eris rocket from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in north Queensland as early as December.
The launch permit is required under the Space (Launches & Returns) Act 2018, which covers the launch any object from Australia to an altitude of over 100 kilometres.
It comes with a number of conditions that must be met before launch, and a mandatory 30-day notification period.
“With this green light, we will soon attempt the first orbital test flight of an Australian-made rocket from Australian soil,” said Gilmour Space CEO and co-founder, Adam Gilmour.
“Our team is assessing the conditions of the permit and will advise on the anticipated launch date for Eris TestFlight1 in the coming weeks.”
In March 2024, the Bowen Orbital Spaceport was granted Australia’s first orbital launch facility licence by the Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, and was officially opened by then-Queensland Deputy Premier Cameron Dick.
In September, the company announced it had successfully completed a major ‘wet’ or fuelled dress rehearsal of the launch its Eris launch vehicle, progressing the countdown to T-10 seconds.
The upcoming TestFlight1 will be the first of several planned test launches.
