Two spaceports built, two launch firms funded, no orbital launch. One of the firms is in administration.
0
orbital launches from this country in 2026, to 2 October
0
orbits reached by its launch firms, ever
€94.2m
public money to its launch firms, not counting contracts for future launches
2
launch firms we cover
Checked 7 October 2026
Launch firms
Orbex
- Status
- stopped
- Public money
- €89.8m
- Private money
- €72.3m
- Promised
- a first flight to orbit in 2021, said in 2019
- Delivered
- never launched; administration on 18 February 2026
Skyrora
- Status
- no orbital flight
- Public money
- €4.4m
- Private money
- €48.7m
- Promised
- a first flight to orbit in 2022, said on 24 March 2021
- Delivered
- the 2022 Skylark L flight failed; the orbital target is now 2030, tentative
Launch sites
No orbital launch from British soil. SaxaVord has a licensed pad and has launched nothing.
SaxaVord Spaceport
- What happened
- Licensed, with RFA’s pad built and a rocket stacked twice. Nothing has launched.
Space Hub Sutherland
- What happened
- Built for Orbex, which left for SaxaVord in December 2024 and then went into administration. The site has no operator.
Orbex had €89.8m of public money. It bought a road, a test stand and a factory. No rocket left the ground.
Money from company accounts, public registers and ESA contracts; promises from the statements on our company and spaceport pages; launch counts from Jonathan McDowell’s launch log of 7 October 2026. Every figure is on the page it comes from.