Catching a caravan to space: Coast company launches galactic ‘ride share’
Gold Coast launch services company, Gilmour Space Technologies has scheduled a launch of a dedicated rideshare mission, known as Caravan-1, into low earth orbit in late 2024.
It said most rocket launches hosted a primary customer payload, but a rideshare launch consisted of many customer payloads such as cubesats, microsats and other small spacecraft.
Founder and chief executive Adam Gilmour said Caravan-1 would provide affordable access to new space customers who wanted to launch into a mid-inclination orbit at the end of 2024.
The venture-capital-backed company is developing Australian rockets that will deliver a variety of spacecraft into low-earth orbit and is expecting to launch its first Eris vehicle from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport early next year.
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“Caravan-1 will launch in 2024 on our upgraded Eris Block 2 rocket , which will have a lift capacity of one tonne to LEO — a significant upgrade in launch capability and capacity for our customers,” Gilmour said.
“The next few years are going to be a very exciting time for the global space industry, and missions like this will allow us to support the growth of new satellite and in-orbit technologies that could benefit humanity on Earth, in space, and beyond.”
Caravan-1 customers will also have the option of using a standard 15-inch adaptor port, and/or leveraging on Gilmour Space’s modular satellite platform, called the G-Sat, for individual payloads.
