It significantly comes ahead of the business targeting the first test launch of its Eris rocket later this year.
On Thursday, Gilmour said it would transition to using Siemens’ CAD software NX and its project lifecycle management program (PLM) Teamcenter.
PLM software is a suite of applications that helps companies manage the entire lifecycle of a product, from conception to retirement. They aim to improve product development processes, reduce costs, and increase innovation.
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Adam Gilmour, chief executive officer of Gilmour Space, said, “We’re unique in Australia in providing a full spectrum of launch services to our global customers – from the launch vehicle and orbital launch site to the satellite platforms and mission management.
“Siemens’ software will play a key role in our ongoing research, product, and solution development as we grow into a globally competitive launch provider.”
Gilmour’s Eris launch vehicle is unique because its propulsion system, developed entirely by Gilmour in Australia, uses a combination of solid and liquid propellants to produce a record 115 kilonewtons of efficient combustion.
The launch will be a watershed moment for the Australian space industry, as the rocket will be the first completely Australian orbital launch system to go into space.
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Gilmour is targeting the first test launch from its Bowen Orbital Spaceport in north Queensland within the next six months.
“Only 11 nations have launched their own rockets into orbit, and our efforts will help to build a significant dual-use capability for Australia,” Adam Gilmour said earlier this year.
“We’re confident it will take off the pad, but no first launch vehicle from a new company has ever successfully gone to space on the first try.
“What generally happens is the second one works, so we’re building two of them so we can learn from the first and succeed with the second.”
Following the test flights, the Eris rocket will be equipped with a range of payloads when it starts its “Block 1” missions late this year.
With a payload capacity of up to 215 kilograms, there is room for multiple small spacecraft on the Eris rocket.
Among those that will hitch a ride to space on Eris is a specially designed thermal camera constructed by Macquarie University’s Australian Astronomical Optics department.
The camera will be integrated into a Gilmour Space satellite which will launch on Eris, and will be used for monitoring weather, water quality, and detecting bushfires.
Space Connect reported earlier this year how Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hailed Gilmour Space as a “great Australian success story” during a visit to its factory on the Gold Coast.
“When this rocket goes into space, it will carry 300 companies with it. Australia will become the 12th country in the world to be able to have access to this technology – designed, manufactured, and built right here (on the Gold Coast) and creating high-quality jobs,” PM Albanese said.
“This is one of the companies that we’re looking at when we have our National Reconstruction Fund and that whole agenda about a future here made in Australia – making use of an Australian procurement policy to buy Australian and making sure we back Australian science and innovation.
“Australia can compete with the rest of the world. What we need to do is to back our businesses that are doing it. This is truly an Australian manufacturing success story, and we want more of them.”
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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