Edinburgh-based space company Skyrora has successfully completed the static fire test of the second stage of its flagship Skyrora XL orbital vehicle.

Taking place at Discover Space UK at Machrihanish Airbase on the Mull of Kintyre, it was the largest integrated stage test in the UK for 50 years, since the days of the Black Arrow and Blue Streak rockets, which were cancelled in the seventies without ever going into production.

As such, the test is a vital step towards performing the first vertical rocket launch from British soil.

It involved hot firing the second stage engine of Skyrora XL to prove the vehicle’s operational capability for its intended payloads and to ensure that its performance met all the design requirements.

The test was successfully completed with all systems nominal throughout the 20-second burn and the single 70kN liquid engine operated within its design margins and achieved the expected thrust which will carry it into space.

In addition, it moves the company another step towards commercial operation, and its inaugural orbital launch is now scheduled for 2023 from the SaxaVord Space Centre on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.

The test was made possible by funding from the European Space Agency’s Commercial Space Transportation Programme as well as support from the UK Space Agency.

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Volodymyr Levykin, Founder and CEO of Skyrora, said: “With the UK striving to capture a 10% share of the global space market by 2030, the successful Skyrora XL second stage static fire test puts Skyrora on track to become a key part of the UK’s new space industry as the first British company to conduct vertical launch from UK soil.

“Skyrora now has purpose-built rocket manufacturing and testing facilities in the UK – as well as the largest 3D printer of its kind, which we are using to produce rocket engine components.

“We recognise the value that a strong domestic space industry will bring to the UK, and we will continue to spearhead these efforts to make the UK a player to be reckoned with globally.”

Colonel Lee Rosen (USAF, Retd.), Skyrora COO and former SpaceX Vice-President added: “The static fire test looks, sounds and feels a lot like a rocket launch, but without lifting off. This hugely successful test was a definitive demonstration of our mobility and flexibility.

“The Skyrora team went from clean tarmac to a full static fire test in just 2.5 days, bringing all the necessary equipment with them.”

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