In a statement, Gilmour Space called the first Eris test flight “a major milestone toward offering low-cost, responsive launch services for small satellites globally.”
“Congratulations to the Gilmour team on today’s achievement,” said Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency. “It is rare for first launches to reach orbit. That is part of the innovation cycle and why you test. We look forward to the next phases of the test program.”
Diagnosing failure
Gilmour’s engineers determined that propulsion failures were the likely cause of the accident.
“All the data we have now is just from what we’ve seen on videos, and it looks like an engine failed within the first few seconds of the flight,” Gilmour said in an interview with Ars. “Then the rocket has enough power to go up with three engines, and the control system was doing a marvelous job of keeping it vertical. But I think as we kind of cleared the tower, a second engine looked like it’s failed, and that’s when we couldn’t keep going, and we came back down again.”
Hybrid engines are an unconventional choice for an orbital-class rocket. They typically don’t produce as much thrust as conventional solid- or liquid-fueled rockets. But they’re less complex than liquid engines, and unlike a solid rocket motor, hybrid engines can be throttled or turned off if there is a problem.
Gilmour’s team of more than 200 employees designed and developed the bulk of the Eris rocket, including the engines, structures, avionics, software, and the spaceport itself. Most of the company’s engineers are new to the space industry, but Gilmour’s staff includes a handful of veterans from other rocket companies, including Rocket Lab, Firefly Aerospace, Virgin Orbit, and Avio.
“Most of what we do, we develop ourselves the hard way, with pure R&D, with failure,” Gilmour said.
