Gilmour Space announces first Australian customer for planned 2022 launch

Gilmour Space has announced its first Australian customer, Space Machines Company, for a maiden launch scheduled for 2022.

“We’ve closed two commercial launch contracts in the last few months, and are targeting 12 rockets a year by 2025,” said the Gold Coast-based launch company’s co-founder, Adam Gilmour. 

The newly-announced client has contracted Gilmour Space for delivering a 35 kilogram spacecraft — “one of the largest spacecraft developed and tested by an Australian space company” — into orbit from an Australian site, “provided a launch site here is ready.” 

Gilmour added that, “This could well be the first Australian payload to be launched to orbit on an Australian rocket, from an Australian launch site.”

Space Machines Company is an Australian startup “developing in-space transportation capabilities to cost-effectively insert small satellites into desired low earth orbits (LEO), geostationary earth orbits (GEO) and Cis-Lunar (Moon) orbits.”

Of the launch in two years’ time, SMC CEO and co-founder Rajat Kulshrestha said, “At 35 kg, this will be one of the largest spacecraft developed and tested by an Australian space company.”

Gilmour Space is a venture-backed startup established in 2013. It held a $19 million Series B round in 2018 and recently announced plans for a further capital raise this year.

According to the company, its Eris rockets will be launching payloads up to 305 kilograms into low earth orbits, up to 215 kilograms into 500 kilometres sun synchronous orbits, or up to 305 kilograms into 500 km equatorial orbits.

Picture: Gilmour Space Technologies

Subscribe to our free @AuManufacturing newsletter here.