Space / CAA issues first launch licence for UK space company
A GLASGOW-BASED space company has been granted the first ever vertical launch licence for a UK firm, and could launch up to 16 rockets a year from Unst.
Skyrora has been granted the licence by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to operate its sub-orbital Skylar L vehicle from SaxaVord Spaceport.
It is only the second vertical launch licence issued by the CAA. German company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) is the other full licence holder. HyImpulse Technologies currently has a UK air navigation order, issued by the CAA.
Skyrora will be allowed up to 16 launches a year from Unst, subject to CAA authorisation, after the company passed an approval process looking at safety and environmental mitigations.
CAA chief executive Rob Bishton said it was a “major milestone” for the UK’s space sector that a home-grown company had been granted its launch licence.
And Skyrora chief Volodymyr Levykin said it was “testament to the hard work and dedication” of everyone at the company that it was the first UK company to receive its licence.
“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,” he added.
The licence comes with a number of conditions that will need to be met before launch, the CAA said, including insurance, a data sharing agreement with the UK Government, satisfactory arrangements with the spaceport, and airspace agreements with other countries.
Head of the UK space regulator, Colin Macleod, said the CAA will be in regular conversation with Skyrora while the company works to meet those conditions.
“The team I have here will be regularly working with Skyrora and they are already working very closely with SaxaVord,” Macleod said.
“There is an ongoing relationship between the regulator and these operators to make sure they are doing all the things they have to do, to complete all the conditions before launch.
“We don’t have a yes/no decision to make on the launch as the regulator, what we have is a veto power to say you cannot launch if you have not met all these activities.”
Only once all those conditions are met, Skyrora will be in a position to determine its launch schedule.
SaxaVord Spaceport became the UK’s first licensed vertical launch spaceport in December 2023, and received its range control licence in April 2024.
RFA is confident it will be the first to launch a rocket into orbit from SaxaVord, potentially later this autumn.
Meanwhile, Macleod confirmed that the CAA was dealing with a “healthy interest” from other operators keen to obtain launch licences.
Scottish secretary Ian Murray said the announcement was not just “one giant leap for Skyrora” but was a “massive boost to the whole of Scotland and the wider UK’s space sector”.
“Becoming the first British company to manufacture and send a rocket into space from the UK will be a hugely significant moment,” the MP said.
“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.”
UK Space Agency chief executive Dr Paul Bate congratulated Skyrora on its milestone.
“This demonstrates the growing strength of our domestic launch capabilities, and the thriving commercial space economy we are building across the country,” he said.
“With companies like Skyrora, we’re positioning Britain as the natural choice for customers seeking reliable, cost-effective access to space from European soil.”
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