{"id":318517,"date":"2025-08-05T00:59:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T00:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/318517\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T00:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T00:59:11","slug":"caa-issues-first-launch-license-for-uk-space-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/318517\/","title":{"rendered":"CAA issues first launch license for UK space company"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Skyrora team hopes to launch from SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst.
Photo: CAA
\nA 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.<\/p>\n

Skyrora has been granted the licence by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to operate its sub-orbital Skylar L vehicle from SaxaVord Spaceport.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Skyrora will be allowed up to 16 launches a year from Unst, subject to CAA authorisation, after Skyrora passed an approval process looking at safety and environmental mitigations.<\/p>\n

CAA chief executive Rob Bishton said it was a \u201cmajor milestone\u201d for the UK\u2019s space sector that a home-grown company had been granted its launch licence.<\/p>\n

And Skyrora chief Volodymyr Levykin said it was \u201ctestament to the hard work and dedication\u201d of everyone at the company that they were the first UK company to receive its licence.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkyrora 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Head of the UK Space Regulator, Colin Macleod, said the CAA will be in regular conversation with Skyrora while the company is working on meeting those conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team I have here will be regularly working with Skyrora and they are already working very closely with SaxaVord,\u201d Macleod said.<\/p>\n

Already a member? Sign in<\/strong><\/a> to hide this message.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an ongoing relationship between the regulator and these operators to make sure they are doing all the things they have to do, the complete all the conditions before launch; they have to notify us of lunch etc.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only once all those conditions are met, Skyrora will be in a position to determine its launch schedule.<\/p>\n

SaxaVord Spaceport became the UK\u2019s first licensed vertical launch spaceport in December 2023, and received its range control licence in April 2024.<\/p>\n

RFA \u00a0is confident it will be the first to launch a rocket into orbit from the SaxaVord, potentially later this autumn.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Macleod confirmed that the CAA was dealing with a \u201dhealthy interest\u201d from other operators keen to obtain launch licences.<\/p>\n

Scottish secretary Ian Murray said the announcement was not just \u201cone giant leap for Skyrora\u201d but was a \u201cmassive boost to the whole of Scotland and the wider UK\u2019s space sector\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecoming the first British company to manufacture and send a rocket into space from the UK will be a hugely significant moment,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting time for the Scottish space sector \u2013 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

UK Space Agency chief executive Dr Paul Bate congratulated Skyrora on its milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis demonstrates the growing strength of our domestic launch capabilities, and the thriving commercial space economy we are building across the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith companies like Skyrora, we\u2019re positioning Britain as the natural choice for customers seeking reliable, cost-effective access to space from European soil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shetland News<\/strong> is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:<\/p>\n