Skyrora circles Orbex wreckage as UK rocket rival heads for administration

Skyrora is eyeing the wreckage of fellow British rocketeer Orbex following the latter's announcement that it will appoint administrators. The move likely marks the end for Orbex and its hopes to launch the Prime rocket in 2026. After exhausting funding options and M&A opportunities, the business was no longer viable. " …

[Gene Cash]

This would be an interesting post-mortem

What caused them to fail?

Was it government red tape? Was it a lack of talent? Was it an inability to get various things a rocket needs that are sometimes difficult to acquire? Was it a lack of customers? Was it a poor business model? Was it just running things on too damn much of a shoestring?

A £20m UK government investment doesn't really even get one rocket finished.

I assume "A £6m followed" means they got £6m more funding, which is a drop in the bucket. That wouldn't even equip a small test stand.

It sounds like "we got a pat on the back and a 'good luck' and were left out to dry"

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: This would be an interesting post-mortem

Wikipedia shows a total of £91.1M + up to €169M of funding. Falcon 1 development cost between $90M and $100M. The DoD was desperate for an alternative to ULA and helped SpaceX at every opportunity. NASA has an incredible range of test facilities and expertise to help aerospace start-ups. The quantity of money was sufficient to create a small rocket in the US. There would be a significant cost to not being based in the US but I have no idea how much.

[werdsmith]

Re: This would be an interesting post-mortem

UK Government has reduced its contribution to ESA and is folding the UKSA into the Dept of Science.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world steps up to the burgeoning industry.

UK shit-thick government.

[werdsmith]

Re: This would be an interesting post-mortem

Meanwhile, Axiom gets another $350 million dollars.

[Adair]

Re: This would be an interesting post-mortem

A good comparison would be, how did RocketLab do it (down in NZ before US interests got involved, but including that also); while Orbex, with a notionally much bigger local pool to fish from, hasn't even managed to go 'KaBoom!' on the pad (or have they—I'm guessing here)?

[Muscleguy]

Re: This would be an interesting post-mortem

My understanding is that UK govt funding they fully expected to get did not happen. UKGov appears to have killed them. Scotland cannot be allowed to do things for ourselves. We might get delusions of being a viable independent concern. That Glasgow builds more satellites than anywhere else in Europe done largely without UKGov support is an embarrassment to Westminster.

[that one in the corner]

Skyrora

Sorry, sorry, but I just can not read that properly - it keeps coming out as Kia-Ora.

"Silly crows, this launch pad is just for me and my dog".

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: Skyrora

For me it is: "All aboard the Skylark!" (yes IAVO.)

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Skyrora

Skylark?

You are Marc DuQuesne and I claim my five pounds.

[The Bobster]

Re: Skyrora

I envy your Sense of Perception.

[steelpillow]

"We remain committed to supporting our dynamic space sector"

except when it runs out of other people's money.

Now, if /we/ had thought of it in the run-up to an election....

[ChrisC]

"We have been successfully developing"

Ah, this is obviously some strange usage of the word "successfully" that I wasn't previously aware of...

[VoiceOfTruth]

£20m

>> Kyle was speaking following a £20m UK government investment in the company.

Vin Tanner: That wouldn't even pay for my bullets.

Let's face it, we can't even get the signalling running reliably on the London Underground. I mean day in day out without there being a problem somewhere.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: £20m

Stick to worrying about the Метрополитен

[Doctor Syntax]

"The company was on that cusp for a while."

Hofstadter's law strikes again.

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they should of claimed their Rocket was going to be powered by AI to get more funding.

[Arthur the cat]

Maybe they should of claimed their Rocket was going to be powered by AI to get more funding.

To repurpose an old sysadmin joke:

That's cynical — but is it cynical enough?

[X5-332960073452]

"focused on ensuring maximum impact for taxpayers’ money"

Poor choice of words when it comes to rocketry!