Rockets made in Lanarkshire should reach space next year, company says

Skyrora it building its first 23-metre XL rocket at a factory in Cumbernauld.

A rocket on its side under construction in a large warehouse — Skyrora’s XL rocket on its factory floor in Cumbernauld (Skyrora/PA)

A Scottish company aims to send its rockets into space from 2026, following an attempt at a suborbital launch later this year.

Skyrora is building its first 23-metre rocket called XL at a factory in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, with the goal of sending small satellites into space.

An attempt to launch a smaller rocket called Skylark from Iceland ended in failure in October 2022, when a software problem led to it falling into the sea just after lift-off.

A number of companies are working to become the first to launch satellites into space from European soil, with several planning on using SaxaVord Spaceport on the Shetland Islands.

Large plume of smoke and fire beneath a rocket engine — An engine test by Scottish-based rocket company Skyrora (Skyrora/PA)

At least two hope to carry out launches by the end of this year, while a spaceport in Norway is also preparing for a launch attempt.

Germany’s RFA is thought to have the most advanced plans and it was officially licensed for spaceflight by the regulator last month.

Alan Thompson, Skyrora’s head of government affairs, said the Glasgow-based company is keen to carry out its next flight attempt from the UK, where its factory and testing site are based.

He told the PA news agency it hopes to launch Skylark – which will not deploy satellites into space – as a “proof of concept” from SaxaVord around this summer, though discussions with the spaceport’s owners are ongoing.

He said: “We are hoping to get the fire testing done by the end of the year.

A Skyrora rocket with a large group of staff standing alongside it, looking up to the camera — Skyrora will carry out an initial launch of a smaller rocket called Skylark (Skyrora/PA)

“If we are fortunate, then hopefully we will get launch windows for next year for XL.”

He said 2026 is the “realistic” timescale for launching XL, which can carry up to 315kg to a sun-synchronous orbit.

Its first stage will use nine engines firing together, and Skyrora aims to do its first test-firing of the full stage in the second half of this year.

Ultimately the company wants to achieve a regular schedule of launches, going from two or three initially to as many as six after a few years.

Mr Thompson told Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee earlier this month that the company had chosen Iceland as the site of its first launch attempt due to regulatory delays in the UK – saying it had “got tired of waiting”.