Australia's first orbital rocket crashes

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The first Australian-made rocket to attempt to reach orbit from the country's soil crashed after 14 seconds of flight on Wednesday.

The rocket Eris, launched by Gilmour Space Technologies, was the first Australian-designed and manufactured orbital launch vehicle to lift off from the country and was designed to carry small satellites to orbit. It launched early Wednesday morning near the small town of Bowen in the north of Queensland state.

In videos published by Australian news outlets, the 75-foot rocket appeared to clear the launch tower and hovered in the air before falling out of sight. Plumes of smoke were seen rising above the site. No injuries were reported.

The company hailed the launch as a success in a statem

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