Skyrora has successfully completed the static fire test of the second stage of its flagship Skyrora XL orbital rocket. Discover Space UK at Machrihanish Airbase hosted the biggest integrated stage test to be held in the UK since those of Black Arrow and Blue Streak in the 1970s. Achieving this latest milestone moves Skyrora one crucial step closer to entering commercial operations, with an inaugural orbital launch scheduled for 2023 from the Saxa Vord Space Centre in northern Scotland.
The test involves hot firing the second stage engine to prove the vehicle’s operational capability for its intended payloads and ensure that its performance meets all the design requirements. It was successfully completed with all systems nominal throughout the 20-second burn and the single 70kN liquid engine operated within design margins and achieved the expected thrust.
The second stage was assembled at Skyrora’s recently unveiled Cumbernauld manufacturing facility. Part of a three-stage launch vehicle, the second stage of Skyrora XL will start its engine at an altitude of approximately 62km before the third stage is fired at around 190km to achieve orbital velocity of 28,000 km/h. Skyrora previously tested the third stage of its XL launch vehicle in December 2020, setting the mark for the first integrated stage test by a commercial launch vehicle developer in the UK. The first stage of Skyrora XL is currently in construction, with hot fire tests due to take place in mid-2023.
The completion of the second stage static fire tests marks a key milestone achievement for Skyrora under its Boost! co-funding agreement with the European Space Agency, supported by the UK Space Agency.
Volodymyr Levykin, Founder and CEO of Skyrora, said: “With the UK striving to capture a 10 per cent share of the global space market by 2030, the successful Skyrora XL second stage static fire test is the latest milestone reached to put Skyrora on track to become a key part of the UK’s new space industry as the first British company to conduct vertical launch from UK soil. Skyrora now has purpose-built rocket manufacturing and testing facilities in the UK – as well as the largest 3D printer of its kind, which we are using to produce rocket engine components.”
