Commercial Space
Australia’s Gilmour Space Aims for Historic Orbital Launch in May 2024
Queensland-based Gilmour Space prepares to launch Australia’s first domestically developed orbital rocket, Eris, marking a strategic shift in the nation’s space capabilities.
Australia’s First Orbital Rocket: Gilmour Space Targets Historic Mid-May Launch
Australia stands on the cusp of a groundbreaking achievement in its space journey. Gilmour Space Technologies, a Queensland-based aerospace startup, is preparing to launch the nation’s first domestically developed orbital rocket, Eris, no earlier than May 15, 2024. This event is not just a technological milestone, it’s a statement of intent from Australia to become a serious player in the global space industry.
Historically, Australia has played a supportive role in space missions, offering ground-based infrastructure and satellite operations. However, the absence of a sovereign orbital launch capability has limited its strategic autonomy. Gilmour Space’s upcoming launch could change that narrative, symbolizing a shift from dependency to leadership in the Asia-Pacific space sector.
With a hybrid propulsion system and a focus on small satellite payloads, the Eris rocket is designed to meet the growing demand for low-cost, flexible launch services. The implications of this launch go beyond national pride, they touch on economic growth, technological innovation, and environmental sustainability in the space domain.
Gilmour Space and the Rise of Australia’s Space Industry
From Startup to Space Pioneer
Founded in 2012 by brothers Adam and James Gilmour, Gilmour Space Technologies emerged with a mission to democratize access to space through affordable, hybrid rocket technology. Headquartered in Queensland, the company has grown from a small team of engineers into a national symbol of innovation and ambition.
The Eris rocket, standing at 25 meters tall, is the culmination of over a decade of research and development. It features a three-stage hybrid propulsion system that combines a liquid oxidizer with solid fuel, an approach that balances safety, cost-efficiency, and environmental considerations. With a payload capacity of up to 305 kilograms to low Earth orbit (LEO), Eris is tailored for the booming small satellite market.
Gilmour Space’s journey has been marked by several suborbital test flights since 2016, each iteration bringing the company closer to operational orbital launch capability. The upcoming mid-May launch from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport, also developed by Gilmour, represents the final step in this evolution.
“We’re not just launching a rocket; we’re launching Australia’s space future.” , Adam Gilmour, CEO of Gilmour Space Technologies
Strategic and Economic Significance
This launch is more than a technical demonstration, it is a strategic asset for Australia. As the Indo-Pacific region becomes increasingly focused on space capabilities for both economic and security purposes, having a domestic launch provider enhances Australia’s sovereignty and reduces reliance on foreign partners.
The Australian government has recognized this potential. Since the establishment of the Australian Space Agency in 2018, there has been a concerted effort to grow the space sector to AUD 12 billion by 2030. Gilmour Space is a cornerstone of this vision, having secured over AUD 87 million in funding from investors like Blackbird Ventures and Main Sequence Ventures, along with government grants and support from the Queensland Government.
Additionally, the Bowen Orbital Spaceport offers strategic advantages due to its proximity to equatorial launch trajectories and emerging markets in Southeast Asia. This positions Australia as a regional hub for space launches, particularly for small satellite operators looking for cost-effective and timely deployment options.
Challenges and Readiness
Despite the excitement, the path to launch has not been without obstacles. A planned March launch was delayed due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, underscoring the unpredictability of natural elements in launch logistics. Moreover, regulatory approvals and technical readiness must align perfectly for the mid-May window to be met.
Gilmour Space has addressed these challenges head-on. The company completed static fire tests of the rocket engines earlier this year and is now in the final stages of payload integration and system checks. Regulatory clearances from the Australian Space Agency have also been streamlined, reflecting the government’s commitment to enabling commercial space activity.
If successful, this mission will validate Gilmour’s hybrid propulsion technology and set a precedent for future launches, including potential missions beyond LEO and into geostationary orbits or lunar support roles.
Global Context and Technological Innovation
Competing in the Global Small Satellite Market
The global small satellite market is experiencing explosive growth. Valued at USD 3.1 billion in 2022, it is projected to reach USD 7.0 billion by 2027, driven by rising demand for Earth observation, telecommunications, and scientific research. This surge has created a pressing need for affordable and flexible launch services.
Gilmour Space is entering a competitive landscape populated by established players like Rocket Lab and emerging ones across Asia and Europe. However, its unique hybrid propulsion technology and regional positioning offer distinct advantages. Unlike traditional liquid or solid rockets, hybrid systems are not only safer but also potentially more environmentally friendly.
By focusing on small payloads and rapid turnaround times, Gilmour Space aims to carve out a niche in this dynamic market. Its ability to offer dedicated launches, as opposed to ride-share models, provides satellite operators with more control over their missions, a valuable proposition in a crowded industry.
“A successful launch by Gilmour Space would position Australia as a serious contender in the global space economy.” , Dr. Alice Gorman, Flinders University
Environmental and Technological Considerations
One of the underappreciated aspects of Gilmour’s Eris rocket is its environmental footprint. Traditional rocket fuels often emit toxic byproducts into the atmosphere. In contrast, hybrid rockets like Eris produce fewer harmful emissions, aligning with global efforts to make space exploration more sustainable.
This aligns with broader trends in aerospace engineering, where environmental impact is becoming an increasingly important metric. As governments and private entities alike push for carbon neutrality and sustainable innovation, companies like Gilmour Space could find themselves ahead of the curve.
Moreover, hybrid propulsion offers a middle ground between the controllability of liquid engines and the simplicity of solid ones. This makes them ideal for small satellite launches, where cost and safety are paramount. If Eris performs as expected, it could set a new standard for launch vehicles in its class.
National Security and Regional Influence
Beyond commercial applications, space capability has national security implications. As geopolitical tensions rise in the Indo-Pacific, the ability to independently launch and maintain satellites becomes a strategic asset. Australia’s defense and intelligence communities could benefit from sovereign launch options for surveillance, communications, and navigation systems.
Gilmour Space’s success would thus serve dual purposes: economic and strategic. It would also encourage further investment in space infrastructure, education, and workforce development, creating a virtuous cycle of innovation and capability building.
In the long term, this could lead to Australia playing a more central role in multilateral space initiatives, whether in Earth orbit, lunar missions, or even Mars exploration. The mid-May launch is just the beginning of what could be a transformative era.
Conclusion
The upcoming launch of the Eris rocket by Gilmour Space Technologies represents a pivotal moment for Australia’s space industry. It encapsulates years of innovation, public-private collaboration, and strategic vision. If successful, it will not only mark a technological triumph but also redefine Australia’s role in the global space economy.
Looking ahead, the implications are vast. From bolstering national security and economic growth to setting new standards in sustainable aerospace engineering, Gilmour Space’s mission is a beacon for what’s possible when ambition meets execution. As the countdown begins, the world watches with anticipation.
FAQ
What is the Eris rocket?
Eris is a three-stage hybrid rocket developed by Gilmour Space Technologies, designed to carry small satellite payloads (up to 305 kg) into low Earth orbit.
When is the launch scheduled?
The launch is targeted for no earlier than May 15, 2024, pending final regulatory and technical readiness.
Why is this launch significant?
It will be the first time an Australian-designed and built rocket attempts to reach orbit, marking a major milestone in the nation’s space capabilities.
How is the Eris rocket different from others?
It uses hybrid propulsion, which combines the safety and cost benefits of solid and liquid fuels, and has a lower environmental impact.
Where will the launch take place?
The rocket will launch from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in Queensland, Australia, which was developed by Gilmour Space.
Sources: Aviation Week, Gilmour Space Technologies, Australian Space Agency, ABC News Australia, MarketsandMarkets, Australian Government
Photo Credit: PSNews
Commercial Space
Starfighters Space Plans STARLAUNCH 1 Captive-Carry Flight Test
Starfighters Space schedules a December 2026 captive-carry flight of STARLAUNCH 1 aboard an F-104 Starfighter from Kennedy Space Center.
Starfighters Space, Inc. (NYSE American: FJET) will conduct the first captive-carry flight test of its STARLAUNCH 1 suborbital development vehicle using a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter in December 2026. The mission marks the program’s transition from ground-based design to active flight testing, establishing operational procedures for future drop tests and powered launches.
In a press release issued on October 13, 2026, the company confirmed that the airframe design for STARLAUNCH 1 has been finalized and inert flight hardware has been ordered. The December 2026 flight will originate from the company’s base at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center and proceed to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) licensed Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville, Florida.
Transitioning to active flight testing
The upcoming captive-carry flight represents a critical milestone for the STARLAUNCH program. Inert flight hardware is expected to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center hangar in November 2026. Engineering teams will then begin assembly and testing of the rocket-aircraft interface to ensure the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter can safely carry the suborbital vehicle.
Tim Franta, CEO of Starfighters Space, stated that the planned captive-carry flight will move STARLAUNCH 1 from design and ground-based development directly into flight testing.
“Our approach is deliberately incremental: build the hardware, integrate it with the aircraft, fly it, collect data, and use those results to advance toward separation and powered flight. This work on STARLAUNCH 1 is also expected to generate engineering and operational experience to inform the future development of STARLAUNCH 2.”
The December 2026 mission is designed to test aircraft integration, evaluate aerodynamic behavior, and establish operational procedures. Piercarlo Ciacchi, Director of Flight Operations and Chief Pilot of Starfighters Space, noted that the flight will capture essential data for the FAA and the United States Space Force (USSF).
“December’s captive-carry mission would essentially be step one of a multi-flight campaign, building processes for our launch team while capturing data for the FAA and the Space Force as we move toward propulsive air launch.”
Following the December 2026 captive-carry mission, the company plans to conduct a drop test over the Atlantic Ocean. This will be followed by a demonstration of the integrated propulsion system.
Hardware integration and propulsion development
The December 2026 flight may also serve a dual purpose by incorporating hardware from the company’s Wind Tunnel in the Sky program. On October 8, 2026, Starfighters Space announced the completion of its first flight hardware for this initiative, manufactured by Italian engineering firm Robby Moto Engineering S.R.L. (RME). The assembled flight articles measure 3.65 meters in length and 178 millimeters in diameter.
During the STARLAUNCH 1 flight, the company may fly this newly completed Wind Tunnel in the Sky hardware under the opposite wing of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter on a customer-funded rideshare mission. In this configuration, the hardware will simultaneously serve as an aerodynamic counterweight for the STARLAUNCH 1 vehicle.
Propulsion development is also advancing in parallel. On September 9, 2026, Starfighters Space signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Florida-based Vaya Defense & Space to evaluate the Vortex-Hybrid rocket engine for the STARLAUNCH system. Data collected during the December 2026 flight will support Vaya Defense & Space in developing a hybrid rocket motor aligned with the specific requirements of STARLAUNCH 1.
The STARLAUNCH development pathway
Starfighters Space operates the world’s only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ supersonic aircraft. Based at the Kennedy Space Center, the company utilizes its fleet to provide pilot training, in-flight testing, and microgravity research, while actively developing air-launch capabilities for space payloads.
The STARLAUNCH program is the company’s primary air-launch initiative. STARLAUNCH 1 serves as the initial suborbital development vehicle, designed to pave the way for STARLAUNCH 2, a larger vehicle intended for orbital launches.
The program has met several technical milestones throughout the year. On January 21, 2026, the company announced the successful completion of subsonic and supersonic wind tunnel testing for STARLAUNCH 1. These tests demonstrated clean separation behavior at Mach 0.85 and Mach 1.3. Subsequently, on February 20, 2026, the program advanced to a Critical Design Review (CDR) with support from GE Aerospace to confirm design maturity.
Addressing the hypersonic testing bottleneck
The aerospace and defense industries are currently facing a significant bottleneck in hypersonic testing. Traditional ground-based wind tunnels are heavily oversubscribed and typically offer only seconds of test time per run. Airborne platforms like the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter fleet offer sustained testing at speeds exceeding Mach 2 in real atmospheric conditions.
This capability provides a complementary method to compress development timelines for defense primes and commercial space companies, allowing them to gather sustained aerodynamic data outside of traditional laboratory environments.
AirPro News analysis
We view the activation of the STARLAUNCH flight test campaign as a notable indicator of the shifting economics in high-speed aerospace testing. By utilizing legacy supersonic platforms to bypass the constraints of ground-based infrastructure, commercial operators are positioning themselves to capture overflow demand from defense primes and space launch developers. If the December 2026 captive-carry flight successfully validates the aerodynamic integration, it will likely accelerate the timeline for propulsive air-launch systems, offering a viable alternative to traditional vertical launch architectures for smaller payloads.
The dual-use nature of the December 2026 flight, which tests the launch vehicle while simultaneously flying a commercial payload as a counterweight, demonstrates a highly efficient approach to flight test monetization. This strategy allows the operator to offset development costs while proving out multiple distinct business lines on a single sortie.
Photo Credit: Starfighters Space
Commercial Space
Space Cargo Unlimited Books SpaceX Starfall for 2028 Mission
Space Cargo Unlimited signs with SpaceX to launch a 1-tonne in-space factory on Starfall in 2028, its first European customer.
Luxembourg-based startups Space Cargo Unlimited has secured a contract with SpaceX to launch a one-tonne modular space factory aboard the new Starfall reentry capsule. The mission, targeted for 2028, marks a significant capacity increase for commercial in-space manufacturing and establishes the company as the first known European customer for the Starfall vehicle.
Announced on September 15, 2026, the agreement will utilize Space Cargo Unlimited’s BentoBox payload platform to produce materials in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) before returning them to Earth. According to Reuters, the startup is currently in discussions with more than 100 potential customers, with approximately 40 percent originating from the life sciences and biotechnology sectors.
Scaling up microgravity production
The upcoming 2028 mission represents a tenfold increase in payload capacity for Space Cargo Unlimited. The company previously operated missions with a 100-kilogram limit. The Starfall contract expands that capacity to 1,000 kilograms, or one metric ton.
In a press release detailing the agreement, Space Cargo Unlimited Co-founder and CEO Nicolas Gaume highlighted the historical barriers to orbital production.
“For more than thirty years, we’ve known that manufacturing in microgravity can create materials and products that simply cannot be produced on Earth. The challenge has never been the science. The challenge has been making access commercially practical, repeatable and scalable.”
Demand for the expanded capacity appears robust. Reporting by Payload indicates that Space Cargo Unlimited has already sold one-third of its 1,000-kilogram allocation for the 2028 flight.
Starfall and the commercialization of Starship
The Space Cargo Unlimited contract is part of a broader commercial rollout for SpaceX’s Starfall reentry vehicle, which is designed to fly on the heavy-lift Starship launch system. SpaceX conducted the first demonstration mission of the Starfall capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket on June 23, 2026.
Other aerospace integrators are also securing space on future Starfall flights. In August 2026, Redwire subsidiary SpaceMD announced plans to fly 32 variants of its PIL-BOX payloads on a 2028 Starfall mission to research microgravity drug development. On September 21, 2026, German launch integrator Exolaunch confirmed an agreement for a Starfall mission scheduled for no earlier than 2029.
SpaceX is actively transitioning the Starship program from developmental testing to revenue-generating operations. Speaking to the vehicle’s long-term capabilities, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk noted the company’s aspirations are to deliver well over one million tons to orbit annually.
While Space Cargo Unlimited has publicized the 2028 target for its BentoBox mission, SpaceX has not officially confirmed the specific timetable for this flight.
AirPro News analysis
We view the transition from 100-kilogram research payloads to one-tonne commercial batches as a critical threshold for the in-space manufacturing sector. The high concentration of prospective biotechnology customers suggests that pharmaceuticals and advanced materials will likely drive the initial economic viability of orbital factories. If SpaceX can maintain the projected 2028 timeline for Starfall operations, the bottleneck for microgravity manufacturing will shift from launch availability to payload integration and terrestrial market demand.
Sources: Space Cargo Unlimited
Photo Credit: Space Cargo Unlimited
Commercial Space
Dawn Aerospace Aurora Spaceplane to Support Astral Materials
Dawn Aerospace will conduct up to 100 microgravity flights for Astral Materials using the Aurora spaceplane from Oklahoma starting 2028.
Astral Materials has selected Dawn Aerospace to conduct up to 100 microgravity test flights using the Aurora spaceplane to accelerate the development of next-generation semiconductor manufacturing hardware. The campaign, announced on September 1, 2026, will operate out of the Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport in Burns Flat, Oklahoma.
In a press release issued on September 1, 2026, Dawn Aerospace detailed the agreement, which leverages the rapid reusability of the Aurora spaceplane to provide high-cadence microgravity testing. Astral Materials plans to use these flights to refine its microgravity furnace hardware. The system is designed to reduce gravity-driven defects, such as convection and sedimentation, during the growth of semiconductor crystals. These materials have potential applications in photonics, quantum computing, and high-power electronics.
Rapid iteration in suborbital flight
The Aurora spaceplane is designed to reach a top speed of Mach 3.7 and a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers, providing payloads with up to 127 seconds of microgravity per flight. According to the manufacturers, the vehicle supports a four-hour turnaround time between flights. This operational tempo allows researchers to conduct multiple tests within a single day.
Astral Materials Chief Technology Officer Jiya Janowitz highlighted the value of this cadence for hardware development, noting that payloads can be recovered in approximately 45 minutes.
“We can test an idea, recover it in around 45 minutes, make an adjustment on the ground and test it again later that same day. That kind of rapid iteration has never existed for microgravity manufacturing, and it fundamentally changes how quickly we can develop our technology.”
Astral Materials Chief Executive Officer Dr. Jessica Frick stated that the Aurora spaceplane provides a practical pathway to validate manufacturing systems before scaling to commercial production in orbit, where longer-duration microgravity is available.
Commercial operations and Oklahoma infrastructure
Commercial flight operations for the Astral Materials campaign are slated to begin in 2028 at the Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport. The Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority (OSIDA) welcomed the partnerships in an official social media statement on September 1, 2026, emphasizing the state’s focus on attracting high-cadence commercial spaceflight operations.
This agreement follows an April 16, 2026, announcement in which Dawn Aerospace and OSIDA launched the Suborbital Spaceplane Challenge. That initiative offered United States researchers up to 25 flights aboard the Aurora spaceplane to stimulate utilization of the Oklahoma facility.
Dawn Aerospace Chief Executive Officer Stefan Powell noted that routine access is required to transition microgravity manufacturing from a scientific curiosity to a viable industry, comparing the need for rapid experimentation to previous industrial revolutions.
AirPro News analysis
The partnership between Dawn Aerospace and Astral Materials highlights a critical gap in the current space manufacturing ecosystem. While orbital platforms like the International Space Station offer long-duration microgravity, the cost and lead times associated with orbital launches prohibit the rapid trial-and-error necessary for hardware development. Suborbital spaceplanes like Aurora serve as an essential stepping stone. By providing brief but frequent periods of microgravity, these vehicles allow companies to validate complex systems before committing to expensive orbital deployments.
We note a minor discrepancy in Dawn Aerospace’s published materials regarding the commencement of operations at the Oklahoma site. The main announcement targets 2028 for commercial flights, while the company’s boilerplate text references 2027. Regardless of the exact start date, establishing a reliable suborbital testbed will be vital for the commercial viability of in-space manufacturing applications.
Sources: Dawn Aerospace
Photo Credit: Dawn Aerospace
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