With the announcement of a Series D investment round on February 19, Australian business Gilmour Space Technologies has raised $55 million Australian dollars, or $35 million.
The money goes toward the tiny launch vehicle startup’s goal of producing, testing, and starting satellite and rocket launches from North Queensland’s Bowen Orbital Spaceport.
Founded in 2012, Gilmour Space is working on the Eris rocket, a three-stage rocket. According to the Gilmour Space press release, the first Eris test flight is anticipated “in the coming months, pending launch approvals from the Australian Space Agency.”
Later this year, a second test flight is anticipated, and commercial launches are planned to start in 2025.
The funding round was headed by Queensland funding Corporation. Blackbird, Main Sequence, HostPlus, and Australian pension fund HESTA are among the other investors.
Gilmour Space’s co-founder and CEO, Adam Gilmour, expressed gratitude in a statement for the company’s support from prestigious investors.
“Gilmour’s ability to compete as a full-stack launch services provider will be a strong value proposition for an underserviced segment of the global space market,” said Patrick Christiansen, private equity investment director of Queensland Investment Corp. in a statement. Christiansen added that Gilmour’s capacity to provide clients with a comprehensive package that includes satellite bus services in addition to launch services was “a key competitive advantage.”
In 2021, Gilmour Space—an Australian startup situated close to Brisbane—raised roughly $46 million in a Series C financing.
In a statement, Blackbird co-founder Rick Baker claimed that the Series D funding “will allow Gilmour to attempt multiple launches and to become the first Australian-built rocket to get to orbit.” “The achievements of the team in taking that technology through years of testing and iteration are coming to a head now. “