Australia’s first orbital rocket, Gilmour Space’s Eris-1, to launch July 2 after nose cone glitch

Gilmour Space has replaced Eris-1’s toppled top hat and is ready for another launch attempt.

The Australian company’s first rocket was ready to fly in May, but an early trigger of the vehicle’s fairing  —  the shell at the top of the rocket that protects payloads during launch  —  nixed that try. Now, a month and a half later, Eris-1 is back at the launch pad awaiting liftoff.

Gilmour is currently targeting no earlier than (NET) July 2 for the debut launch of Eris-1, from Pad 1 at the company’s Bowen Orbital Spaceport in Queensland. Liftoff is currently expected during a window that opens July 2 at 5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 GMT; 7:30 a.m. local time on July 3).

Popping its top too early wasn’t the first major delay Eris-1 faced this year. Gilmour was prepared to launch Eris-1 as early as March, but Tropical Cyclone Alfred prevented that first attempt from taking place.

May’s setback had nothing to do with Mother Nature.

Eris-1’s payload fairing system was triggered when neighboring components created a feedback charge during a routine vehicle shutdown that engaged the single-use deployment protocols and ejected the protective shell from the launch vehicle.

“While shutdowns are a normal part of launch operations, this issue didn’t appear during previous tests. That’s because the fairing separation system is single-use and isn’t activated to maintain its reliability and ensure safety,” Gilmour said in an update.

Since its founding by brothers Adam and James Gilmour in 2015, Gilmour Space has grown to more than 200 employees in support of its operations and spaceport on the Queensland coast.

Eris-1 stands a modest 82 feet (25 meters) tall and is designed to launch up to 474 pounds (215 kilograms) to sun-synchronous orbits. The rocket’s debut mission, TestFlight1, will be the first of several as Gilmour Space qualifies the new vehicle’s systems.

Keeping a realistic view of its expectations, Gilmour’s founders have stressed that any measure of success for the Eris-1 flight will be considered a success.

“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,” they said in a press release in February.

The July 2 launch will not be streamed, but Gilmour Space will provide updates via its social media channels.