Australia's Gilmour Space 'not going to give up' as it eyes 2nd orbital launch attempt in 2026

吉尔摩太空科技不离不弃，瞄准 2026 年第二次轨道发射尝试

The Australian company Gilmour Space aims to make a second attempt to reach space in 2026, having turned a cow paddock into a launch pad.

澳大利亚吉尔摩太空科技公司（Gilmour Space）计划于 2026 年进行第二次入轨发射尝试，该公司已将一片牧场改造为发射台。

Gilmour Space launched its first Eris rocket on July 29 from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in coastal Queensland, but the rocket fell to Earth just 14 seconds after liftoff.

7 月 29 日，吉尔摩太空科技从昆士兰州沿海的鲍恩轨道航天港（Bowen Orbital Spaceport）发射了首枚 “厄里斯” 号（Eris）火箭，但火箭升空仅 14 秒后便坠入地球。

Despite the setback, the TestFlight1 mission laid the foundation for sovereign launch from Australian soil, according to Adam Gilmour, CEO and co-founder of Gilmour Space Technologies, speaking at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 3.

10 月 3 日，该公司首席执行官兼联合创始人亚当・吉尔摩（Adam Gilmour）在澳大利亚悉尼举行的国际宇航大会（IAC）上表示，尽管遭遇挫折，但 “试飞一号”（TestFlight1）任务为澳大利亚本土自主轨道发射奠定了基础。

"We had 14 seconds of flight time, 23 seconds of engine burn time. And we have obviously gotten a lot of data out of it, a lot of information, and we were pretty happy with it," Gilmour said. He added that, on average, it takes a rocket company an average of three launch attempts to get to orbit successfully.

“火箭飞行了 14 秒，发动机燃烧了 23 秒。显然，我们从中获取了大量数据和信息，对此我们相当满意。” 吉尔摩说道。他补充称，一家火箭公司平均需要三次发射尝试才能成功入轨。

Behind July's brief flight lay years of groundwork. The journey to the pad involved challenges and hurdles in terms of engineering, financing, regulations and licensing — including 24 different permits from Queensland, along with environmental and airspace approvals — as well as finding a location for a launch pad.

7 月这次短暂的飞行背后，是多年的铺垫工作。从技术研发、资金筹备、法规合规到许可证申请 —— 包括来自昆士兰州的 24 项不同许可，以及环境和空域使用审批 —— 再到发射台选址，整个过程充满了挑战与阻碍。

"We drove 2,000 kilometers [1,240 miles] out into the middle of Australia, into an area that I think is very similar to what the surface of Mars looks like," Gilmour said. "When we did the launch, a lot of the media said Gilmour launched a rocket in a cow paddock. I got offended — but then you go down there, and you do see cows."

“我们驱车 2000 公里（约 1240 英里）深入澳大利亚腹地，抵达一个地貌酷似火星表面的区域。” 吉尔摩说，“发射时，很多媒体称我们‘在牧场里发射火箭’，一开始我还挺反感的 —— 但你真到了那里，确实能看到牛群。”

Now, with infrastructure in place, and having worked with regulators, the company is plotting its return to flight for 2026.

如今，基础设施已就位，且公司已与监管机构达成协作，正筹备 2026 年的再次发射。

"We are going to be launching again next year," Gilmour said. "We're going to be doing more launch attempts, so we're not going to give up."

“我们明年还会再次发射，会进行更多尝试，所以我们不会放弃。” 吉尔摩表示。

This, he added, is the start of what could be a bright future for the Australian space sector. "I think the future looks fantastic … If you look at all the building blocks of what the country's done, we now have rules and regulations that permit orbital launches.

他补充道，这标志着澳大利亚航天领域或将迎来光明前景。“我认为未来非常可观…… 看看澳大利亚已具备的所有基础条件：我们现在有了允许轨道发射的规章制度。”

"I think there's at least four or five companies in Australia that have satellites operationally working in space, which is really, really good," Gilmour said. "And we are well capitalized. So I think in the next five years, you're going to see more launches out of Australia."

“澳大利亚至少有四五家公司拥有在轨运行的卫星，这真的非常棒。” 吉尔摩说，“而且我们资金充足。所以我认为，未来五年，你会看到更多从澳大利亚出发的航天发射。”