Countdown: Gilmour Space readies for CASA launch green light


James Riley
Editorial Director

Gilmour Space Technologies has started 2025 in the same position it finished 2024: Without a final permit from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and consequently without a launch date.

In fact, Gilmour’s 25-metre Eris launch vehicle is resting quietly in a horizontal position inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the company’s Bowen Orbital Spaceport in Queensland.

Once CASA issues a permit — as it is expected to do — Gilmour Space will enter a mandatory notification period for both CASA and the Australian Space Agency with notice of the intention to launch.

These notification periods give each agency a window to notify third-party organisations that could be affected by the launch, whether its airlines, shipping companies, other space regulators around the world and even foreign governments.

Gilmour Space Technologies Eris first stage

The long march toward regulatory approval for the Eris test flight has been a grind. But after a short break over Christmas and New Year, chief executive Adam Gilmour is sanguine about getting past this final regulatory issue.

“There is a lot of goodwill at CASA, and we recognise that they have been working very hard to get it done,” Mr Gilmour said.

“We know they have been working towards it. It’s just that this is the first time for everyone involved, and it is quite complex. To give you an idea, we have had Zoom calls with literally 30 people on the call.”

Based on wait periods, if the CASA permit is approved (which comes with regulatory input from Airservices Australia), the earliest Gilmour could conduct the Eris Testflight One mission would be the middle of February. It is possible the permit will be granted as early as this week.

Once all permits are in place and the Space Agency has been notified, Mr Gilmour said the company would announce a launch window, and work towards a specific launch date and time.

The three-stage Eris vehicle is expected to remain in the vehicle assembly building for the time being.

After conducting full wet dress rehearsals late last year, Adam Gilmour says the next time the rocket emerges from the building will be to install the nozzles and then launch. “We’ll bring it out, connect it up and hopefully be able to send it on its way.”

In the meantime, the Eris vehicle’s livery has been given an update – with a giant Gilmour logo emblazoned on its Stage One booster, joining the Australian Made logo that adorns the up stages.

For the people of Bowen, who have had their eyes on activity at the Abbot Point launch site – just north of the town – for the past couple of years, it has been a long wait.

While there is certainly the potential for the community to benefit from space-related tourism in the future, Mr Gilmour says seeing is believing, and while the townspeople have always been generally supportive, the wait for first launch has been longer than expected.

“In a town like Bowen, there is a realisation that Australia is over-regulated and that getting things done takes time,” he said.

“I think they’re getting excited, but it has been such a long process. They really need to see the first one go up before they start thinking about things like [benefits to] tourism.”

Outside of the immediate focus on carrying out the Eris Testflight One mission, Adam Gilmour has started 2025 with an eye to accelerating processes within the company.

If the Eris Testflight One goes well, the company will likely seek to raise more money. But outside of that, Mr Gilmour will focus his attention on acceleration.

“We’ve just got to move a bit faster. We will be looking at our processes and we will aim to speed up production and speed up design.

“We have got engineers that are very, very careful and we just need to make sure that doesn’t become ‘analysis paralysis’. So that’s where I will be focusing my attention.”

Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.

Leave a Comment

Related stories