https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/australias-1st-orbital-rocket-gilmour-spaces-eris-fails-on-historic-debut-launch

Australia’s 1st orbital rocket, Gilmour Space’s Eris, fails on historic debut launch

The company Gilmour Space notched that milestone today (July 29), sending its first Eris rocket skyward from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in coastal Queensland around 6:35 p.m. EDT (2235 GMT; 8:35 a.m. local Australian time).

Eris didn’t get very far. The rocket began sliding sideways shortly after rising off the pad, crashing back to Earth just 14 seconds after liftoff. It looked a lot like the third orbital launch attempt by the California company Astra, which featured a similar sideways slide off the pad in August 2021.

“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,” the company said about the mission, which was known as Eris-1, in a February statement.

Gilmour Space sounded an optimistic note after the launch as well. “Today, Eris became the first #AustralianMade orbital rocket to launch from Australian soil — ~14s of flight, 23s engine burn. Big step for launch capability. Team safe, data in hand, eyes on TestFlight 2,” the company said this evening in an X post that shared two photos of the liftoff.

They lost one engine out of the four a couple of seconds after lift-off, then another a few seconds after that.
It was barely able to climb on three engines and the guidance was doing a good job getting to head for the ocean, but when the 2nd engine failed it landed in a heap about 50 metres (I guess) from the launch pad.
Then blew-up in the strange non-Hollywood way that hybrid rockets do.

Spiny Norman said:

They lost one engine out of the four a couple of seconds after lift-off, then another a few seconds after that.
It was barely able to climb on three engines and the guidance was doing a good job getting to head for the ocean, but when the 2nd engine failed it landed in a heap about 50 metres (I guess) from the launch pad.
Then blew-up in the strange non-Hollywood way that hybrid rockets do.

At least it had 1 test run.

A good video of the short flight.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1950395515721711703

I hope they keep at it and get a working launch vehicle in the near future.

We (Australia) are going to need something like this for our own independent nuclear deterrent when the US pull out of AUKUS and ANZUS,

party_pants said:

I hope they keep at it and get a working launch vehicle in the near future.

We (Australia) are going to need something like this for our own independent nuclear deterrent when the US pull out of AUKUS and ANZUS,

We haven’t had much success so far.

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

I hope they keep at it and get a working launch vehicle in the near future.

We (Australia) are going to need something like this for our own independent nuclear deterrent when the US pull out of AUKUS and ANZUS,

We haven’t had much success so far.

Wel, it was a fast landing, that has to be considered.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Peak Warming Man said:

party_pants said:

I hope they keep at it and get a working launch vehicle in the near future.

We (Australia) are going to need something like this for our own independent nuclear deterrent when the US pull out of AUKUS and ANZUS,

We haven’t had much success so far.

Wel, it was a fast landing, that has to be considered.

Keeping rockets upright when they land, thats the hard bit.

Spiny Norman said:

A good video of the short flight.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1950395515721711703

It could have blown up properly.

Wrong engine type

They should have used a solid fuel booster for 1st stage – think of how fast and reliable ICBM solid fuel missiles are. You’d attach a few solid fuel boosters that run for enough time to get out the thicker part of the atmosphere then detach, the second stage would be ONE big solid fuel motor with an optimised nozzle for high altitude.

Third stage might be a nitrous oxide and rubber hybrid motor.

Any kind of liquid fuel motor is expensive, complicated, prone to failure, requires years of research and testing.

You use small fins to control high altitude flight

Rollerons can be used on the booster fins of the first stage

Tau.Neutrino said:

Spiny Norman said:

A good video of the short flight.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1950395515721711703

It could have blown up properly.

We could design drones to quickly put out launch pad failures.

Then sell them.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Spiny Norman said:

A good video of the short flight.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1950395515721711703

It could have blown up properly.

We could design drones to quickly put out launch pad failures.

Then sell them.

I’m all for Aussie Aussie Aussie, but this was an embarrassing and pathetic failure.

There;s frickin’ Youtubers (amateur’s, uni-students) that do better than this.

esselte said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

It could have blown up properly.

We could design drones to quickly put out launch pad failures.

Then sell them.

I’m all for Aussie Aussie Aussie, but this was an embarrassing and pathetic failure.

There;s frickin’ Youtubers (amateur’s, uni-students) that do better than this.

But none of them are trying to get a payload into orbit with a multi-stage rocket.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Spiny Norman said:

A good video of the short flight.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1950395515721711703

It could have blown up properly.

We could design drones to quickly put out launch pad failures.

Then sell them.

Drones in military vehicles could put out fires faster than humans.
This could reduce fatalities.

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

It could have blown up properly.

We could design drones to quickly put out launch pad failures.

Then sell them.

Drones in military vehicles could put out fires faster than humans.
This could reduce fatalities.

Hopefully this would keep the clankers busy so they stop trying to make cartoons.