August 18, 2024
Orbex working towards 2025 first launch
Orbex, now projecting a 2025 first launch of its small launch vehicle, plans to focus on the small end of the market even as competitors shift to larger rockets.
In an interview during the Farnborough International Airshow in July, Phil Chambers, chief executive of the United Kingdom-based company, said the company was making progress on both its Prime small rocket and launch site at Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland.
“We expect the spaceport to be ready in early spring of next year,” he said. Vehicle subsystems are going through critical design reviews, with some flight hardware under construction.
“We are shooting for a 2025 launch,” he said, but declined to be more specific about a launch date other than to say that the company wanted to avoid a launch in winter because of poor weather conditions. “But I do want it to be 2025.”
Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland
Photo credit: Orbex expects to complete Spaceport Sutherland in early 2025 to support a first launch of its Prime rocket later in the year. Credit: Orbex
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