Gilmour Space Technologies has been given Civil Aviation Safety Authority approval for the maiden launch of its Eris orbital rocket, and pending final sign-off from the Australian Space Agency will open its launch window on May 15.
The company was given its CASA sign-off late last week, but wanted to wait until after the excitement of the federal election was out of the way before making its launch announcement on Sunday.
It didn’t hurt that Sunday was May the fourth, an important day in the calendar for the space sector, particularly for dedicated Star Wars fans (May the Force be with you).
There is a final hurdle – and there have been many of these – as Gilmour waits for its final launch permit approval from the space agency.
The company was granted its provisional launch permit in early November last year and with the CASA approval under its belt is optimistic that the formal permit will be granted this week.
Gilmour is calling March 15 its NET date – that is the No Earlier Than date for the launch window to open. If the space agency signs off this week, the window will open on that date and the three-stage Eris vehicle will ready to go.
A small team has already been sent to Gilmour’s Bowen Orbital Spaceport to fire up the electronics on the rocket and perform computer hardware and software testing.
And a team of 25 Gilmour Space Technologies launch staff will travel to Bowen from the company’s Gold Coast headquarters and manufacturing facility to start launch preparation.
The team will conduct a Launch Readiness Review, stepping through a complex and lengthy set of the procedures to have the Eris readied for flight.
Roughly two-and-a-half days before the flight the team will start its countdown, during which time they will step through the intensively pre-rehearsed process that will culminate in the ignition of the four Sirius rocket motors on the vehicle’s stage one booster.
The NET May 15 date marks the second time the company has unveiled an anticipated launch window. The company had previously got to within six days of its intended March 15 window was to open before regulatory queries – and the impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred – got in the way.
It has been a long and expensive road to launch. The company had first moved its fully-integrated, ready to test Eris vehicle into its vertical position on the launch pad in April last year.
Wet tests and full dress rehearsals to within ten seconds of launch have been conducted starting last year
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