Orbex Space is a UK-based, private launch services company focused on serving the small satellite industry. They are developing the Orbex Prime, a micro-launch vehicle designed for low-Earth orbit satellite deployment, utilizing innovative and sustainable bio-propane fuel. While initially planning to launch from Sutherland Spaceport, Orbex has shifted its launch operations to SaxaVord Spaceport. Orbex's key partners and customers include the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, and companies like Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and Astrocast.
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Orbex planned a first Prime launch for late 2021 in 2019, which by late 2020 had slipped to 2022 and in 2022 had slipped to sometime in 2023.
Orbex plans to launch Prime from Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland.
Orbex raised £16,700,000 ($20,800,000) on 2024-04-18 as an extension to a Series C round that raised £40,000,000in 2022.
A University of Exeter study found that a single launch of the Orbex Prime rocket will produce up to 96 percent lower carbon emissions than comparable space launch systems using fossil fuels.
Orbex secured £40.4 million in a Series C funding round led by Scottish National Investment Bank.
Orbex plans to launch as many as 12 Prime rockets into orbit each year.
Orbex was granted a 50-year lease to construct and operate Sutherland Spaceport as its home spaceport.
Isar Aerospace, Orbex, PLD Space, and Rocket Factory Augsburg are four startups selected for the European Flight Ticket Initiative that are working on small launch vehicles.
Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland was selected by the U.K. Space Agency in 2018 as the country’s preferred vertical launch site and is being developed by Orbex for its Prime small launch vehicle.
The European Space Agency’s Boost! program awarded £6,700,000to HyImpulse and Orbex to support development of environmentally sustainable systems for launches from spaceports in the Shetland Islands and northern Scotland.
Orbex will use the £3.3 million in funding to undertake activities to build the Ultra-Green Launch Complex at Sutherland Spaceport.
Orbex was awarded £3.3 million in funding from the UK Space Agency as part of the European Space Agency’s Boost! initiative.
Orbex Prime is a 19-metre-long micro-launcher designed to launch small satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits.
Orbex Prime was unveiled in May 2022 as the first full orbital micro-launcher rocket in Europe.
In his role as Chief Commercial Officer, John Bone will leverage his network to establish and nurture key partnerships and expand Orbex’s presence in the global space market.
Orbex Prime is a 19-metre-long reusable rocket designed to launch small satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits.
Orbex plans to launch Orbex Prime from its home spaceport in Sutherland.
Orbex has created around 100 skilled jobs in Moray and will build and operate Sutherland Spaceport.
Orbex is building and operating Sutherland Spaceport under a fifty-year lease with an option to extend for a further twenty-five years.
Orbex is adding an extra 1,500 square meters of factory and office space to its existing 4,750 square meter estate in Forres, Scotland and Copenhagen, Denmark.