Australia's first rocket, Eris-1, crashed just 14 seconds after liftoff. The launch was the country's first attempt at orbital flight in nearly 54 years.
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On Tuesday, July 29, at 8:35 a.m. local time, private Australian company Gilmour Space Technologies launched the first Eris-class rocket from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport, off the coast of Queensland. However, just 23 seconds after the rocket's engines ignited and just 14 seconds after liftoff, the craft hit the ground again.
A video of the launch shows that the rocket initially took off normally, with all four engines operating properly. However, after it lifted off the launch pad, its ascent slowed sharply, began to tilt to the side, and then fell to the ground, enveloped in a cloud of smoke, and likely landed on its side. There was no apparent explosion, but the rocket quickly burst into flames.
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Eris-1, which was about 25 meters tall, was the first spacecraft built entirely by an Australian company. It was also the country's first orbital launch attempt since October 1971, when the United Kingdom successfully launched a British Black Arrow rocket from a space center in South Australia, according to AP News.
The launch was originally scheduled for March, but was postponed due to inclement weather caused by Cyclone Alfred. It was then canceled again in mid-May when a piece of the payload “dislodged” from the rocket on the launch pad, according to Space.com, a sister site to Live Science. No one was injured in the fall and there were “noadverse environmental impacts,” according to an emailed statement from Gilmour Space. The company has not yet revealed what caused the failure.
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Despite the flight lasting just 14 seconds, Gilmour Space representatives called the launch a major success, describing it in a post on Platform X as a “big step” and an “amazing result.” Historically, they noted, most first-time launches fail to even lift off the pad.
Source: livescience
