Gilmour Space Technologies (also known as Gilmour Space) is a

venture Venture may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *The Ventures, an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 *"A Venture", 1971 song by the band Yes *''Venture'', a 2010 EP by AJR Games * ''Venture'' (video game), a 1981 arcade gam ...

-funded Australian

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

company headquartered in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

that is developing hybrid-engine rockets and associated technology to support the development of a low-cost space

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...

. Its stated mission is to provide affordable space launch services to the world's fast-growing small satellite industry. The maiden launch of its first commercial orbital vehicle, called Eris, is planned for April 2023 from Bowen Orbital Spaceport in

Abbot Point Abbot Point Port is home to the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT), the most northerly deepwater coal port of Australia, situated approximately north-west of the township of Bowen (Queensland). Established in 1984, it consists of a rail ...

, Bowen. Eventually, the company is also looking to provide low-cost space access for human

spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly spacecraft into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in or ...

and

exploration Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Founding

Gilmour Space was founded in 2012 in Singapore by former banker, Adam Gilmour. Gilmour graduated from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

with

Bachelor's Degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

Banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

and Finance. In 2013, the Australian CEO & Founder set up similar operations in Queensland, Australia with his brother James Gilmour. The company's first project in 2013 was to design and manufacture high-fidelity spaceflight

simulators A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the ...

and replicas for a number of space-related exhibits, and education centres, including Spaceflight Academy Gold Coast, Australia's first astronaut training centre. It began its rocket development program in 2015; and within 18 months, successfully launched Australia and Singapore's first privately developed hybrid test rocket using proprietary 3D printed fuel. Gilmour Space's Series A and B investors include

Blackbird Ventures Blackbird, blackbirds, black bird or black birds may refer to: Birds Two groups of birds in the parvorder Passerida: * New World blackbirds, family Icteridae * Old World blackbirds, any of several species belonging to the genus ''Turdus'' in the ...

Main Sequence Ventures
an
500 Startups
Their Advisors include ex-NASA administrators, Professor

Dava Newman Dava J. Newman (born 1964) is the director of the MIT Media Lab and a former deputy administrator of NASA. Newman earned her PhD in aerospace biomedical engineering, and Master of Science degrees in aerospace engineering and technology and polic ...

and Colonel (Retired)

Pamela Melroy Pamela Ann Melroy (born September 17, 1961) is an American retired United States Air Force officer and NASA astronaut serving as the deputy administrator of NASA. She served as pilot on Space Shuttle missions STS-92 and STS-112 and commanded mi ...

Launch vehicles

RASTA

RASTA (Reusable Ascent SeparaTion Article) was a

sub-orbital A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital re ...

sounding rocket A sounding rocket or rocketsonde, sometimes called a research rocket or a suborbital rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The rockets are used to ...

launched by Gilmour Space on 22 July 2016, the vehicle was propelled by a proprietary hybrid rocket engine. RASTA performed nominally during the test flight and reached an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any ellip ...

of 5 km. RASTA was the first launch vehicle flown by Gilmour Space and was the world's first demonstration of a rocket launch using 3D printed fuel, This was not the first flight of a hybrid rocket engine from Australia, as Hybrid rockets had been flown as early as 1997 in Australia by members of the Tripoli Rocketry Association Australia (TRAAU) and the New South Wales Rocketry Association (NSWRA). RASTA was also referred to as RASTA MK2 or RASTA 2 internally for unknown reasons. A possible explanation of this would be because the Head of Propulsion at the time, Jamie Anderson, previously worked on and flew a separate sounding rocket named RASTA (Recovery And Separation systems Test Article) at an organisation called Academic Space Launch Initiative or ASLI in 2012.

One Vision

One Vision "One Vision" is a song written and recorded by the British rock band Queen, first released as a single in November 1985 and then included on their 1986 album '' A Kind of Magic''. It was conceived by the group's drummer Roger Taylor.sub-orbital A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital re ...

designed to test Gilmour Space's new mobile launch platform and their hybrid rocket engines. On 29 July 2019, One Vision was prepared and fuelled for its maiden test flight, however, during the countdown to launch, the vehicle suffered an anomaly, resulting in a premature end to the mission. The anomaly was caused by a pressure regulator in the oxidiser tank that had failed to maintain required pressure, causing damage to the tank. According to the company, after a detailed investigation into the anomaly, 15 key recommendations were implemented into the design of Eris.

Eris

Eris is a three-stage

small-lift launch vehicle A small-lift launch vehicle is a rocket orbital launch vehicle that is capable of lifting or less (by NASA classification) or under (by Roscosmos classification) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). The next larger category consists of medi ...

designed to launch up to 305 kg of payload to

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

. The vehicle is known to have four of Gilmour Space's hybrid rocket motors to propel the first stage. Eris is expected to make its first commercial launch in April 2023. Eris has a height of 25m and a diameter of 2m for the first stage, which then tapers at the interstage of the first and second stage to 1.5m. The

payload fairing A payload fairing is a nose cone used to protect a spacecraft payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additional function on some flights is to maintain the cleanroom environm ...

has two diameter configurations, 1.5m and 1.2m. Eris will launch from Bowen Orbital Spaceport in

, Bowen. Eris has also been referred to in the past as Eris-S and Eris-100.

Eris-400/Eris-L

Eris-400/Eris-L was a planned clustered engine variant of Eris designed to take up to 450 kg to

. Little information has been disclosed about this vehicle and it is unknown if it is still slated.

Eris Block 2

Eris Block 2 is an upgraded variant of Eris designed to lift 1,000 kg to low Earth orbit. It is expected to begin commercial service in 2024.

Technology

Engine Development

Testing of Gilmour Space's hybrid rocket motors began in February 2016 with a seven-second test of the engine later used on RASTA. Two more static fires of RASTA's engine were conducted before its suborbital flight. Gilmour Space became the first private rocket company in Australia to launch a proprietary

hybrid rocket A hybrid-propellant rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor that uses rocket propellants in two different phases: one solid and the other either gas or liquid. The hybrid rocket concept can be traced back to the early 1930s. Hybrid rockets avoi ...

in June 2016 with RASTA. Gilmour Space conducted
5 second test
of their ''Catalyst'' mono-propellent thruster in July 2016. It is unclear what the purpose of this thruster is for, a possible purpose would be on the 1U Cubesat and the upper stage(s) of Eris. The company designed and built its own mobile rocket launch platform in 2018-19 (as there were no commercial Australian launch sites at the time), the move launcher platform was successfully tested and proven with the launch attempt of One Vision. The company has since focused its attention on developing Eris, and it is actively seeking partners, such as Australia's Defence Science and Technology group, to test and manufacture its orbital launch vehicles in Australia.

Engine Static Fires

Gilmour Space Technologies has conducted multiple

hybrid engine A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. The basic princip ...

static test firings since making their first static firing of the RASTA sounding rocket hybrid rocket motor.

Deep Space & Exploration Research

Gilmour Space has also supported a number of proof-of-concept technology projects related to the development of a long-term

space habitat A space habitat (also called a space settlement, space colony, spacestead, space city, orbital habitat, orbital settlement, orbital colony, orbital stead or orbital city) is a more advanced form of living quarters than a space station or habit ...

. An example is the M.A.R.S (Mars Aqua Retrieval System) rover project, a collaborative educational project at SUTD which received an award at the 2016

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

international student competition. and was featured in

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

's Exploring Mars exhibit in Singapore. The company is also working on an in-space cubesat propulsion system, which could potentially be used to send a 1U cubesat from Earth's orbit to that of other moons or planets in the solar system. In February 2018, it signed a reimbursable

Space Act Agreement Space Act Agreements (abbreviated SAA) are a type of legal agreement specified in the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (and subsequent congressional authorizations) that uniquely empowers the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ...

with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

to collaborate on various research, technology development and educational initiatives, including the testing of its MARS rover at

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

Spaceflight Simulators

The company has earlier developed a number of unique high-fidelity spaceflight simulators and replicas, including a 6 degree-of-freedom space plane simulator, space capsule simulator, fighter cockpit trainers, low gravity climb, mission control simulators, and others. In February 2017, the Design Business Chamber of Singapore awarded Gilmour Space with the Singapore Good Design Mark (SG Mark 2017) for excellence in design and quality of its simulators.

Funding and Awards

In the fourth quarter of 2016, its then-Singapore business was awarded a grant by the country's National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) to develop aerospace-related

additive manufacturing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

capabilities with the Singapore University of Technology and Design ( SUTD). In May 2017, Gilmour Space secured AUD 5 million in

Series A round A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...

funding to develop and launch a low-cost

for the small payload market. The lead investor was Australian venture capital firm Blackbird Ventures, with co-investors including global venture capital firm

500 Startups 500 Global (previously 500 Startups) is an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. The fund admitted a first "class" of twelve startups to its incubator office in Mountain View, California ...

and other private investors. The company has also been awarded other grants by Advance Queensland in Australia, and the Singapore Economic Development Board. In June 2018, it received the Australian Trade & Investment Commission Innovation Award by the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Singapore "for the individual or organisation that has demonstrated innovation through bringing progressive and new ideas to business in priority sectors". In September 2018, the company became of the first Australian space companies to raise a Series-B investment round of US$14 million, led by

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

venture capital arm, Main Sequence Ventures. In June 2019, Gilmour Space CEO Adam Gilmour was named the Advance Award winner in Advanced Manufacturing. The Advance Awards showcases the work of Australian citizens or residents who have made a significant global contribution overseas across selected industries. In November 2019, Adam was made a member of the Australian Space Agency's Space Industry Leaders Forum, which keeps the Agency informed on industry relevant issues and provides a coordination point for the civil space sector. In December 2019, Gilmour Space signed a statement of strategic intent with the Australian Space Agency as a demonstration of its commitment to launch Australia to space. In the first quarter 2020, Gilmour Space was awarded a $3 million Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) and a $0.25 million Advanced Manufacturing Growth Center (AMGC) grant, to work with partners to manufacture new composite parts for rockets. In November 2020, Gilmour Space was named 'Launch Business of the Year' and 'Business of the Year - SME' at the inaugural 2020 Space Industry Awards. In April 2021, Gilmour Space signed a Memorandum of Understanding wit
SpaceLink
an American company building an “information superhighway for the space economy” using communications technology between low-orbit satellites and the ground. In May 2021, it was announced that an environmental and technical study conducted by the

Queensland government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

for

, Bowen was passed which gave the green light for Gilmour Space to construct a launch facility and conduct spaceflight activities at Abbot Point. In November 2021, Gilmour Space was named one of the 'World's Best Employers in the Space Industry' by Everything Space, a recruitment platform specializing in the

space industry Space industry refers to economic activities related to manufacturing components that go into Earth's orbit or beyond, delivering them to those regions, and related services. Owing to the prominence of the satellite-related activities, some sour ...

References

{{coord, -27.8171, 153.2842, region:AU_type:landmark, display=title Space technology Private spaceflight companies Aerospace companies of Australia Companies based on the Gold Coast, Queensland