London on Wednesday announced £20 million to develop the first orbital rocket made and launched in Britain.
The Prime rocket is due to lift off in late 2025 from SaxaWorld in the Shetland Islands, one of Europe’s two licensed vertical launch sites.
A government statement said Orbex’s Prime rocket would be the first orbital rocket manufactured and launched in the UK, boosting the country’s launch capability and “making Britain a European space leader.”
Technology minister Peter Kyle said the investment in the Orbex launch would also “strengthen” the country’s position in the space sector.
According to the statement, Prime will benefit from the UK’s latitude: Scotland’s geographical position provides slight access to valuable polar orbits.
Paul Bate, director general of the UK Space Agency, said space is a fast-growing global industry with significant opportunities for the UK.
“This first-of-a-kind investment by the UK government demonstrates its confidence in the UK’s space rocket manufacturing and launch sector,” Orbex CEO Phillip Chambers said.
The UK Navy conducted a failed test launch of a Trident II D5 ballistic missile from the submarine HMS Vanguard on January 30, 2024. The submarine’s crew performed their part of the mission perfectly, but the missile’s first stage boosters failed to fire, eventually the 58-tonne missile fitted with decoy warheads fell into the ocean and sank. The missile was supposed to fly 3,700 miles from the Florida coast to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
