Two Scots space firms win £8.5m ESA funding
Two Scottish space companies have secured a total of £8.5 million funding. Orbex and Skyrora received the funding under the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Boost! initiative, and will use it to develop their respective launch technologies and bring them to market.
New small satellite constellations aim to improve access to data and communications and revolutionise services such as satellite navigation and Earth observation.
Orbex, an orbital launch services company based in Forres near Inverness, has been awarded more than £6m – the largest Boost! award so far – to support development of their innovative Prime vehicle that will launch small satellites into orbit from Space Hub Sutherland in 2023.
Prime is fuelled by biopropane – a clean-burning, renewable fuel that reduces CO2 emissions by 90 per cent compared with kerosene-based fuels and has been designed to leave zero debris in orbit.
The Prime rocket is being built in Orbex’s Forres design and manufacturing site, which employs 40 people and is looking to expand further to cater for the growing market for UK launch.
Rocket company Skyrora has received £2.5m to complete the development of their Skyrora XL launch vehicle, which will carry small satellites into orbit.
This will contribute to the creation of an additional 170 jobs directly within the company and will trigger onward job creation across the UK’S space, manufacturing and engineering sectors.
The vehicle is on course to be test-launched in 2022 from a UK spaceport.