A nation’s ability to design, manufacture and launch its own rockets from within its own borders is not just a matter of pride; it’s about securing control over a critical area of infrastructure that could affect everything from communication networks to national security, while also driving economic growth.
At the moment there is not enough room on rockets for everyone looking to reach orbit. Though China's launch rate has grown dramatically in recent years, technology export rules often mean that Chinese launchers are not an option for many.
At the same time, the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has dramatically curtailed Russia's capacity to conduct missions as the number of launches from its soil has fallen from 339 in 2021 to just 19 in 2023 and 17 in 2024. Europe has been particularly impacted by this.
Read more:
Meanwhile Donald Trump's "America First" policies and the US President's fall-out with Elon Musk of SpaceX have injected renewed vigour into the race to ramp up independent launch capabilities in Europe.
At the moment the continent's only spaceport is in the South American region of French Guiana, more than 4,000 miles from Paris. Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched from there earlier this year, more than 10 years after it was commissioned and five years later than originally planned.
Scotland has set its sights on becoming a leader in the European coterie of aspiring space nations, and has moved a significant step closer to achieving this ambition with today's announcement that Skyrora has become the first company in the UK to be granted permission for for vertical rocket launches that company plans to carry out from the SaxaVord spaceport in the Shetland Isles. SaxaVord was granted permission to conduct launches by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in December 2023, making it the UK's first licenced spaceport.
“It is essential that the UK has sovereign launch capabilities," says Volodymyr Levykin, founder and chief executive of Skyrora. "Not only to unlock commercial activity for companies that need to access space and to help achieve the government’s objectives for becoming a global player in the space sector, but also from a strategic defence consideration."
Growing global uncertainty exemplified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine underscores the truth of this statement from Mr Levykin, whose company has suffered the direct effects of the war in his home country.
A 1998 graduate from the Zaporizhzhia National Technical University with a Master’s degree in computer science, Mr Levykin spent his early career working in the online dating sector. This included a spell as an executive at the now-defunct Cupid dating empire based in Edinburgh.
He moved to Silicon Valley to run another IT company based there after selling his shares in Cupid, but returned to his former home in [[Edinburgh]] to set up Skyrora and its parent company Skyrora Ventures in 2017. The rocket company has been making its SkyLark vehicles from a facility at the back end of an industrial estate in Cumbernauld since July 2022.
Read more:
About half of Skyrora's employees are located in Ukraine, where the "Rocket City" of Dnipro was home to Soviet space rocket manufacturing during that era. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the remnants of its space program in Ukraine were reorganized into their own space agency.
Mr Levykin founded Skyrora shortly after the UK government introduced the Space Industry Bill to support development of the national sector, and naturally sought out the expertise in his homeland to bolster capability within the business. Being a rocket company in a war zone following the invasion, operations were quickly upended as new systems were put in place to protect the technology and the company's people.
It's one of many obstacles that Skyrora has overcome to reach today's licencing announcement ahead of a programme that is expected to reach 16 launches per year by 2030.
"Becoming the first home-grown company in the UK to receive a launch operator licence is a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone at Skyrora," Mr Levykin said. "We are pleased to be able to move forward with our launch plans.
"Given that operators like us, alongside the CAA, have been forging a new path, the journey to getting our UK licence has been a long but ultimately rewarding one."
Read more:
Others are due to follow with another Scottish rocket manufacturer, Orbex, now aiming to achieve its first satellite launch from SaxaVord in 2026.
Orbex put work on its own spaceport in Sutherland on hold in December of last year following the surprise announcement that it had come to an agreement with former rival SaxaVord to use its launch facilities. Orbex is now focusing on the development of rockets designed specifically for launch from the Unst site.
This has raised questions about the financial viability of the Sutherland spaceport going forward, but regardless of how that plays out, Scotland continues to boast outsized capability in the orbital economy with "end-to-end" expertise ranging from launchpads and rocket manufacturing to satellite construction and downstream data crunchers.
It has been estimated that by 2030, the international market for launch, satellite, payload and space data services will be worth $1 trillion (£772 billion) annually. Scotland aims to capture about £4bn of this, a relatively small but nonetheless ambitious target that would go a long way towards revitalising the country's economy.
Read more:
In this sense, today's licencing announcement isn't limited to one company making rockets in Cumbernauld.
"It's an exciting time for the Scottish space sector – an important industry which is playing a vital role in our Plan for Change, helping economic growth and employing thousands of people in good quality jobs across the country," Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said.
"Glasgow, in particular, is a city and region with a huge role to play in the space race, with innovation in this field the focus of its £160 million UK Government-funded investment zone status. This zone, established with local partners, is expected to generate around £300m of initial private investment and support up to 10,000 jobs in the region."
Share