Spacex executive poached by Scottish rocket company
ONE of Elon Musk’s top Spacex executives has joined a Scottish rocket company aiming to carry out launches from British soil.
Lee Rosen, a US Air Force veteran who spent a decade at Spacex and became its vice president of mission and launch operations, has joined Skyrora as its chief operating officer.
Skyrora is seeking to launch rockets from a spaceport in the Shetland Islands and says it could carry out 16 a year by 2030. It hopes to complete launches as soon as next year, having carried out tests in Scotland, although these may be from a mobile launchpad in Iceland as the spaceport is not yet built.
Mr Rosen spent more than two decades in the US Air Force before joining Spacex in 2011 where he oversaw 150 missions, and left at the end of last year.
He said: “Currently, the UK is completely reliant on the US and, although this is a crucial relationship, Skyrora is building towards a future when space capabilities in this country will allow for regular sovereign launches.
“Skyrora’s mobile, agile and responsive launch and on-orbit capability can provide the UK with something it has been missing and bolster its special relationship with the US.”
Skyrora says it will be the first British company to carry out launches from the UK. It is planning traditional vertical launches, unlike Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit, which is planning a launch this year from a modified jumbo jet.
The company has received £40m in private and government funding. It has a multi-year agreement with the Saxavord spaceport on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.
Volodymyr Levykin, Skyrora’s chief executive, said: “Developing sovereign, mobile and sustainably focused launch services is of the utmost importance for the UK’S ability to follow through on its commitments to address climate change, provide cutting-edge defence capabilities, and fulfil its potential in the emerging global space economy.”
Spacex, founded by Mr Musk in 2002, has become the biggest provider of US launches and has been credited with reviving the American space industry, but has seen delays to its latest Starship vehicle.