Orbex Appoints Administrators — UK Launch Market Suffers Another Blow

The U.K. launch industry has suffered another devastating blow with the news that Orbex is going to have to appoint administrators after fundraising and merger and acquisition opportunities concluded unsuccessfully. The company will continue trading while all options for the future of the company are explored, including potential sale of all or parts of its business or assets. The company announced the news, Feb. 11.

The funding required for Orbex to remain a viable business was sought from a variety of public and private investors during its Series D funding round, which has ultimately failed. Several merger and acquisition opportunities have also been explored, but did not work out.

The first test launches of Orbex’s microlauncher Prime were due to take place later this year. Orbex already has commercial launch commitments from several satellite customers for Prime, which is a low-carbon microlauncher.

The U.K. launch market has been beset with difficulties as the U.K. tries to develop its space economy and a viable location for launching rockets. Around three years ago, Virgin Orbit’s historic first mission from Cornwall in the U.K. failed to reach an orbit in a story that made news well beyond the space industry. This led Virgin Orbit into a death spiral and not long after filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and then ceased operations soon after.

“Disappointing doesn’t come close to describing how we feel about this moment. We have been successfully developing a sustainable, world-class sovereign space launch capability for the U.K. and were on the cusp of our first test flights later this year. What is most disappointing is that we have brought hundreds of skilled jobs to Scotland; we have been at the vanguard of the U.K.’s space ambitions; we have led the way in driving good news about the U.K.’s space sector. Yet all of this progress now risks being undone – and it is real people who will feel the consequences,” Phil Chambers, CEO of Orbex, said in a statement.

The post Orbex Appoints Administrators — UK Launch Market Suffers Another Blow appeared first on Via Satellite.