Skyrora completes hot-fire test of scaled-down orbital vehicle systems

UK launch services company Skyrora has successfully completed a 45-second static hot-fire test of a scaled-down version of its orbital launch vehicle, Skyrora XL. Taking place at Machrihanish on the west coast of Scotland, the test marks another important step in the development of the company’s orbital launch vehicle.

The test vehicle was built to validate subsystems and components similar to those that will be used in Skyrora XL. The test gathered data on the vehicle’s pressurisation system and critical engine characteristics, including propellant flow rate and chamber pressure.

Photo: Skyrora

Initial data indicates that the subsystems operated successfully throughout the test. Skyrora’s engineering team is now collating and analysing the results before conducting a second test.

Why testing at a smaller scale helps reduce programme risks

Skyrora’s approach is to test early, test repeatedly and test systems together before scaling them up. By testing these systems together at a smaller scale, Skyrora can identify and address engineering challenges earlier in the development programme.

This reduces technical risk and provides further evidence of component and subsystem performance before scaling up through an extensive programme of progressively larger and more demanding trials and integration into the Skyrora XL vehicle.

Photo: Skyrora

Skyrora COO, Dr Jack James Marlow, commented: “You don’t build confidence in an orbital launch vehicle by waiting until the finished rocket is on the launchpad. You build it through thousands of decisions, measurements and tests along the way.

“This scaled-down XL system lets us test and validate the technology, subsystems and components together, understand how they perform and make improvements before scaling up to the full vehicle. Our approach is simple: test, learn, refine and test again, so that when Skyrora XL reaches the pad, we have confidence grounded in evidence.”

Developing UK access to space from British soil

Skyrora is working to establish reliable, sovereign access to space from British soil while strengthening Scotland and the UK’s domestic space and advanced-manufacturing capabilities.

Headquartered in Scotland, Skyrora designs, manufactures and tests launch vehicles and rocket engines from its facilities in Cumbernauld. It is developing Skyrora XL, a three-stage orbital launch vehicle designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit. Its wider launch programme includes the Skylark L suborbital vehicle, advanced propulsion systems and additive-manufacturing capabilities.

In 2025, Skyrora became the first UK-based launch vehicle manufacturer to receive a launch operator licence from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The licence permits the company to conduct a suborbital launch of Skylark L from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland.