Skyrora set for orbital launches with €3m ESA co-funding

The funding, part of the ESA’s Boost! program, will be used by Edinburgh-based Skyrora to complete the technology required to deliver orbital launches from the UK with its XL launch vehicle.

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Skyrora XL is a 23m 56-tonne three-stage rocket capable of carrying up to 315kg into orbit. The vehicle is on course to be test-launched in 2022 from a UK spaceport.

“We draw huge inspiration from the British engineers who led the way on the Black Arrow programme, and we are thrilled to be advancing their pioneering work at Skyrora for the benefit of the UK,” said Dr Jack-James Marlow, Skyrora’s head of engineering for Skyrora.

This project plans to create over 170 high-skilled jobs in the UK and deliver a more environmentally platform with Ecosene, Skyrora’s proprietary eco-fuel that will remove over 3,000 tons of unrecyclable plastic waste by 2030. Skyrora is also said to have conducted several successful trials of Space Tug, which is its solution for clearing debris and removing defunct satellites from orbit.