Space / Orbex launch from Unst now expected in 2026
A ROCKET company is now planning to undertake its first satellite launch from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst in 2026 – and not 2025 as previously planned.
A spokesperson for Orbex said “moving parts”, including infrastructure requirements and engagement with regulators, have led to the slippage.
It aimed to launch its Prime rocket from Unst in late 2025 but the spokesperson confirmed to Shetland News that has now slipped to 2026.
Earlier this year it was also announced that Orbex had been awarded £20 million in investment from the UK Government.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Following the decision to move our initial launch services to SaxaVord Spaceport, we can confirm that the first test launch of Prime will now take place next year, in 2026.
“Over the last few months, our teams have visited SaxaVord to better understand the infrastructure and logistical requirements to launch from Unst, Shetland.
“Our launch team is also busy working on the infrastructure we need for our launch complex, the process for transporting our equipment and the rocket to Unst and with the supply chain that will be helping us to achieve this.
“Our decision to move to SaxaVord has also necessitated us to work closely with the regulators (CAA, OFCOM etc) to revise some of our launch license activity.
“Together, these moving parts mean that Orbex has taken the decision to move launch to 2026 to ensure there is sufficient time to complete all the pre-launch tasks required.”
Prime is described as a “micro-launch vehicle” capable of delivering payloads of up to 180kg to low earth orbit.
Speaking in December last year, SaxaVord CEO Frank Strang said the spaceport had already started on work to complete its second launch pad to facilitate Orbex’s launch plans.
German rocket company RFA, which already has access to the first launchpad at SaxaVord, has previously intimated a desire to launch from the spaceport in 2025.
A spokesperson for RFA confirmed this week that it still intends to launch from Unst the year, with a further hot fire test this summer.
Last year an “anomaly” during a test at the SaxaVord launchpad saw a rocket engine go up in flames.
Meanwhile Orbex said in a recent submission to MPs that it is planning a four-year private financing strategy which aims to raise £120 million.
However it added that with the government now an investor, Orbex is “well positioned to act as a strategic partner for UK-wide industrial, defence and export objectives”.
“To fully realise this opportunity, Orbex needs coordinated support from both the UK and Scottish Governments,” the submission added.
“This includes UK Government commitment to the ESA-led European Launcher Challenge programme, which would unlock significant job creation, strengthen the UK supply chain, and enhance sovereign launch capability.”
It added Orbex is one of only five private companies in Europe – and the only British one – with a “frame contract” to launch European Space Agency (ESA) satellites.
The submission said that Orbex’s long-term strategy “centres on the development of Proxima, a larger, next-generation medium-sized vehicle to support more ambitious commercial, scientific, and defence missions”.
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