The launch came after months of delays, with Gilmour Space having aimed for a debut in March before pushing back the date multiple times, including a postponement in May because of an issue with the rocket’s payload fairing.
An Australian rocket crashed shortly after taking off, marking the first attempt to reach orbit with a made-in-Australia vehicle.
Space startup Gilmour Space Technologies’ first test flight of its Eris rocket left the launch pad at the company’s Bowen Orbital Spaceport, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) northwest of Brisbane, on Wednesday morning local time. It exploded after 14 seconds of flight, the company said on its Facebook page.
