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Orbex is a startup that develops small and medium spatial rockets. The company uses a renewable propane form known as biopropane to feed its rockets.
Michal Wachucik | AFP through Getty Images
The United Kingdom government on Wednesday announced an investment of £ 20 million ($ 24.8 million) in Orbex, a startup of Scottish space flights with the aim of rival Elon Musk’s Spacex
The investment, part of a larger financing round that is being raised by the company, was revealed at the European Space Conference in Brussels.
Orbex raised £ 23 million for its last fundraising. Other investors involved include the export and investment fund of Denmark, Octopus Ventures and the former CEO of Informatica Sohaib Abbasi.
The British government also has a participation in Eutelsat Oneweb, which formed through a 2023 merger of the two companies. The government initially supported Oneweb in 2020 as part of a rescue agreement of $ 1 billion with the Indian conglomerate Bharti.
What is Orbex?
Orbex is a startup that develops small and medium spatial rockets. The company uses a renewable propane form known as biopropane to feed its rockets.
Its objective is to launch its first rocket, called Prime, towards the end of 2025. Measure 19 meters long, Prime is designed to transport small satellites to the orbit of the Low Earth.
The government said that its investment in Orbex would contribute to its ambition to regularly launch rockets manufactured in the United Kingdom of the British soil.
Supporting Orbex will help “turbocharger the country’s position in the space sector,” British Technology Minister Peter Kyle said in a statement on Wednesday.
Orbex’s CEO, Phillip Chambers, said government investment “demonstrates its confidence in the United Kingdom space manufacturing and launching sector.”
“This investment paves the road not only so that we can launch our first rocket this year, but also to develop a larger rocket to allow us to compete in the European pitcher Challenge launch,” said Chambers.
“These development objectives are crucial for our long -term development,” he added.
The European Spacex?
Orbex is not the only British startup facing Spacex. Skyorora, another space firm, told CNBC in November that aims to launch satellites from the United Kingdom floor for the first time at the end of this year.
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), a German startup, is also planning a launch in the United Kingdom by 2025.
Orbex, Skyorora and RFA specialize in the so -called microlanzadores rockets, which are usually much smaller than others and are designed to transport much lighter useful loads.
Orbex promotes its rockets as a more sustainable way to send small satellites to orbit. A study by the University of 2021 found that a single launch of its main rocket would produce up to 96% less carbon emissions than comparable spatial launch systems using fossil fuels.
Speaking in the “European Squawk Box” of CNBC last week, the CEO of RFA, Stefan Tweraser, said that developing sovereign spatial capabilities in Europe is “super important” given the strategic importance of the industry.
“The regulatory framework and the competitive positioning of Europe, a commercially successful operation and a degree of service that offers support for each satellite operator are the basis for us to succeed, despite the deep pockets of the United States,” he said.
