Overview
- The Civil Aviation Authority licence allows Skyrora up to 16 annual suborbital flights of its 11–12 metre Skylark L rocket from SaxaVord Spaceport.
- SaxaVord has no available launch slots for 2025, making Skyrora’s first UK flight unlikely until 2026.
- The company is exploring its mobile launch concept at potential sites in Norway, Australia and the planned Sutherland Spaceport to keep its programme on schedule.
- Skylark L is designed to carry 50 kg payloads to about 500 km altitude as a technology pathfinder for the larger three-stage, ten-engine Skyrora XL orbital launcher.
- CAA chief Rob Bishton and other officials hailed the licence as a major step toward UK sovereign launch capability and growth in the domestic space sector.