A Scottish rocket company has received €3m of co-funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) to complete its development of its rocket technology.
The additional funding will help Skyrora become the first UK company to launch satellites from Europe and complete the technology required to deliver orbital launches with the XL launch vehicle.
The 23-metre, 56-tonne, three-stage rocket capable of carrying up to 315 kg into orbit. It is on course to be test-launched in 2022 from a UK spaceport.
The project plans to create more than 170 high-skilled jobs in the UK.
The Edinburgh-headquartered company has already launched four of its rockets, with along with static fire tests of its suborbital vehicle.
Volodymyr Levykin, founder and chief executive of Skyrora, said: “This ESA contract will accelerate Skyrora’s progress on its journey to be the first to achieve the UK’s sovereign orbital launch.”
Tim Peake, the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station and an advisor to Skyrora, said: “Independent access to space is vital for the UK to realise the full potential of its space industry and this exciting announcement for Skyrora brings us a big step closer to achieving that goal.”
Ivan McKee, Trade and Innovation Minister said: “Our aim for Scotland is to secure a slice of the $400bn global space market by 2030, remaining committed to our climate change targets and becoming a net zero society by 2045.”
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