- Start
- Jan 11, 202290% CONFIDENCEfrom the source
Gilmour Space Test-Fires Record Rocket Engine on the Gold Coast
- On 11 January 2022, Gilmour Space Technologies test-fired its hybrid rocket main engine for a record 75 seconds at 110 kilonewtons (about 25,000 lbf) of thrust.[4][5]
- The test, run at the company's Gold Coast/Yatala facility in Queensland, was the largest and most powerful rocket engine test ever conducted in Australia at the time.[2][5]
- The engine went on to power Gilmour's Eris rocket, Australia's first attempt at an orbital launch.[2]
Notable features
- Gilmour Space develops hybrid-propellant rocket engines; it says its hybrid propulsion is lower cost, greener and safer to operate than most traditional rockets, and Eris would be the world's first hybrid rocket to reach orbit[2][5]
- The engine fired was the Eris first/second-stage hybrid engine; Gilmour's static-fire record runs from 90 kN for 30 seconds in February 2021 to 110 kN for 75 seconds in January 2022 and 115 kN for 100 seconds in November 2022[2]
- Eris Block 1 is a three-stage small-lift launch vehicle designed to carry up to 300 kg to low Earth orbit, with four Sirius hybrid rocket motors on the first stage, another Sirius motor on the second and a Phoenix liquid rocket engine on the third[2]
- The rocket stands 25 m tall with a 2 m first-stage diameter tapering to 1.5 m at the interstage, and a payload fairing offered in 1.5 m or 1.2 m diameters[2]
References 684% CONFIDENCE
The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.
- [1]90%youtube.com/watch?v=GVG3YfSLrVAyoutube.com· Posted Sep 15, 2026· Starts Jan 11, 2022 ✓· 49% of score
Gilmour Space's own announcement (via its X/Twitter post and media release) states the record 110kN, 75-second engine test took place on 11 January 2022.
- [2]78%Gilmour Space Technologies - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 22, 2026· 51% of score
Wikipedia's Gilmour Space Technologies article lists the January 2022 static fire as "110 kN 75 seconds Eris hybrid First/Second Stage Engine", gives the Yatala headquarters, and describes Eris Block 1 as a three-stage rocket for up to 300 kg to LEO with Sirius hybrid motors and a Phoenix liquid third stage.
- [3]80%Gilmour Space Technologies Rocket Engine Test Offers Bright Start to 2022orbitaltoday.com· Published Jan 31, 2022· 0% of score
Independent space-industry outlet corroborating the January 2022 test details.[1]
- [4]78%Gilmour Space Technologies Rocket Engine Test Offers Bright Start to 2022 - Orbital Today (archived)web.archive.org· Published Jan 31, 2022· 0% of score
Archived Orbital Today[3] article stating "On 11th January 2022, the engine was activated for 75 seconds, achieving 110 kilonewtons of force" for the Eris project.
- [5]82%Gilmour Space makes giant leap with successful rocket engine test - Business News Australia (archived)web.archive.org· Published Jan 12, 2022· 0% of score
Archived Business News Australia[6] report on the "75-second full throttle test" of "the largest and most powerful rocket engine ever developed in Australia", giving "over 100 kilonewtons (or 25,000 pounds)" and the hybrid-propulsion claims.
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