Orbex Express Launch is a would-be rocket launcher which operates the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. It is also developing a small rocket called Prime. The UK government has reversed a financial investment in Orbex, seemingly unhappy with further delays to its launch plans.

The investment round is somewhat complicated. In January the UK government invested £20 million (€22.8m) in Orbex as a convertible loan and as a large portion of Orbex’s £23 million Series D fund-raising round. At the time the UK government was told by Orbex that it would need an additional £120 million in further investment by 2028.

The UK government had reportedly earmarked a further €112.3 million into a budget described as “To be Distributed”. Orbex has raised around $150 million over the past 10 years.

Other Orbex investors include the Scottish National Investment Bank (about £28.2 million), and UK-based Venture Capital fund Octopus Ventures, UK-based BGF (Business Growth Fund, a joint venture of bankers HSBC and Barclays), Copenhagen-based Heartcore Capital, Zurich-based Verve Ventures, and High-Tech Gründerfonds of Germany.

The challenge is that there are other European temptations for the UK to back. The European Space Agency (ESA) created its European Launcher Challenge to encourage new entrants to the rocket launch sector.

ESA selected 5 start-ups to receive its backing with a target of 169 million per launcher outfit. By December 1st the ESA programme had secured 902.16 million in promises. Those commitments were split into a small rocket portion and a segment for future development to provide a European heavy-lift rocket.

According to Space Intel Report (SIR), the UK government said: “The new commitments include a record £162 million for launch programmes, including the European Launcher Challenge. This initiative is designed to improve access to space by opening up the European market to commercial operators, increasing resilience and driving down the cost of launching the satellites that deliver services like communications, navigation and weather forecasting.”

The UK statement continued: “This commitment supports the aim of securing assured access to space for the UK, enhancing our national security in an uncertain world, and ensuring the UK benefits from the fast-growing global space market, which makes an outsized contribution to our economy. Through these initiatives, the government will continue to work with launch companies that can deliver our assured access objectives, and develop and strengthen existing partnerships with NATO and European allies.”

In other words, there’s no mention of Orbex, Scotland, or SaxaVord.

An Orbex statement made last week said: “We don’t comment on speculation, but what I can say is that we are very pleased to see UK Government support for Launch. The most important thing is to see continued state backing for our industry and we are delighted that remains in place.”

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Tags: orbex, scotland, UK