Australian-made rocket crashes after attempted north Queensland launch

An Australian-designed and manufactured rocket has lifted off in the first launch attempt from home soil, though it crashed shortly after.

Gilmour Space Technologies attempted to launch its orbital rocket, called Eris, from a spaceport in the north Queensland community of Bowen on Wednesday morning.

The rocket was in the air for less than a minute.

Spectators who gathered in Bowen reported hearing a blast and seeing large plumes of smoke at the launch and for some time after. 

Co-founder Adam Gilmour posted to social media that the company was happy with the launch attempt.

"Got off the pad, I am happy," he wrote. 

Gilmour Space released a statement with further information celebrating the unprecedented event.

"Today, Eris became the first Australian made orbital launch vehicle to lift off from Australian soil," the statement read.

"For a maiden test flight, especially after an extended 18-month wait on the pad for approvals, this is a strong result and a major step forward for Australia's sovereign space capability."

The company said Eris had 23 seconds of engine burn time and 14 seconds of flight.

Initial assessments of the Bowen Orbital Spaceport found launch infrastructure intact.

The Gold Coast company tried to proceed with launch attempts several times this year but was hampered by weather and technical issues.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate congratulated the company.

"Congratulations to Gilmour Space Technologies on having a crack. They truly exemplify the Gold Coast 'have a go' spirit," Cr Tate said.

"They are literally a Gold Coast company aiming for the stars. If you ever wanted an example of how diversified our economy is now, this is it.

"We look forward to following their progress in the years ahead."

'Part of history'

For Mackay resident Andrew Hyland, this was his third trip to Bowen to witness the rocket take-off.

"I've been up here since the first launch was programmed to go," he said.

Bowen residents Helen and Douglas Tawse were ready to watch the rocket take off from the beach.

Ms Tawse said the launch would "put Bowen on the map". 

Mr Tawse said the launch could generate benefits for the small north Queensland community.

"If they're talking about more satellites going up, it would have to help Bowen's economy in the long term."

'Burgeoning commercial' industry

Gilmour Space Technologies has received Australian Government support for its Bowen project, including $5 million for the Eris launch vehicle announced last week.

University of Southern Queensland astrobiologist and astronomer, Jonti Horner, said the launch of the Eris rocket was exciting and showed a maturation of the space industry.

Professor Horner said that historically, only government-run space agencies had the capability to launch rockets.

"In the last decade or so, there has been very much an explosion in our use of space, and that's been because there has been a shift to commercial capacity to put things into orbit," he said.

"As soon as it becomes a commercial enterprise, that means the technology is now much more mature and the prices drop hugely, and there is now this burgeoning global industry of commercial spaceflight and the commercial use of space."

Gilmour Space Technologies cut its May launch campaign short after staff reported two anomalies on different days.

The first was a power supply issue, and the second was the premature opening of the spacecraft's payload fairing, or nose cone.

The company hopes to eventually send satellites into orbit from Australia for commercial entities and the government.