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Permission for the first vertical space launch from UK soil by a British rocket company has been granted by the air safety regulator.
The licence from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) gives Glasgow-based Skyrora the green light to launch its Skylark L rocket from the SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands.
“Skyrora is proud to be leading efforts that enable launch activity from the UK, and we look forward to achieving a reliable commercial launch programme that benefits us all,” said Volodymyr Levykin, CEO of Skyrora.
“It is essential that the UK has sovereign launch capabilities.”
While it’s a step towards that goal, the licence doesn’t mean the Shetlands will rival America’s Cape Canaveral any time soon.
Although the CAA licence allows Skyrora up to 16 launches a year, SaxaVord isn’t expected to be able to facilitate a launch until early 2026.
The current licence is also limited to sub-orbital launches of the 11m tall rocket.
Skyrora expects its rocket to reach an altitude of between 120 and 130km – well over the 100km-high “Karman Line”, which is the internationally-agreed boundary of space.
But Skylark L lacks the heft to access low-earth orbit, the ultimate goal for the emerging “micro launch” industry.
A Skyrora engineer works on one of the company’s rockets
‘Important milestone’
Like many of its competitors, Skyrora is using this smaller rocket to test various technologies – and the regulatory environment – before attempting an orbital flight with its larger vehicle, Skyrora-XL.
Launching from northern latitudes like the UK offers easier access to satellites in polar or sun-synchronous orbits.
Smaller rockets potentially mean cheaper and faster launches, offering a “responsive” launch capability to service or support…
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