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.”
A Skyrora engineer builds a rocket in the company’s factory near Glasgow
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 the increasing number of satellites in orbit.
“I am thrilled we’ve reached this important milestone in the UK space sector, and I congratulate Skyrora for being the first UK company to receive a rocket launch licence,” said aviation and space minister Mike Kane.
The UK, however, has been criticised for being slow to develop a domestic space capability since the Space Industry Act made it possible back in 2018.
The first licence for a UK space launch wasn’t granted until 2022, but the attempt by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic for a horizontal rocket launch from an aircraft failed.
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Another licence was granted earlier this year to German micro-launch company RFA but an explosion during testing of their rocket at SaxaVord delayed its plans for a suborbital launch this year.
Modifications being made to the SaxaVord spaceport mean it may not be ready to accommodate a launch until 2026.
Skyrora told Sky News that if there are significant delays to its plans to launch from SaxaVord, it may look into transferring its CAA licence to Australia’s regulator.
If so, it expects it could launch SkylarkL from Australia’s Woomera test range before the end of 2025.
No doubt that would be a disappointment for the UK government and thousands of space enthusiasts in the UK, but it would see history repeat itself.
The first (and last) British-built rocket to put a satellite into orbit, Black Arrow, launched from Woomera in 1971.
