Australian home-built rocket crashes in maiden attempt

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – An Australian-designed and manufactured rocket on Wednesday lifted off and crashed within a minute of its maiden flight attempt, a video of the crash shared by the company on X showed.

Gilmour Space Technologies made an attempt to launch its orbital rocket, Eris, from a spaceport located in the northern Queensland town of Bowen.

This marked the first attempt of its kind to be carried out from Australian territory.

"Today, Eris became the first Australian made orbital launch vehicle to lift off from Australian soil," the company said in a statement.

"Liftoff completed, launch tower cleared, stage 1 tested. Awesome result for a first test launch," the company wrote on X.

According to Gilmour Space, Eris achieved 23 seconds of engine burn and 14 seconds of flight.

The company had attempted several launches earlier in the year, but those efforts were delayed by adverse weather and technical difficulties.