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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Science
Joe Hinchliffe

‘We have a cloud, and that’s the end’: first Australian-made orbital rocket crashes shortly after takeoff

The spaceship hovered for less than a minute before crashing in a giant plume of smoke, but it was history-making nonetheless – the attempted launch of an orbital rocket designed and made in Australia.

The Eris rocket was built by Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space and briefly blasted off from the Bowen orbital spaceport in north Queensland on Wednesday morning, after months of waiting for the right conditions.

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