Maritime and aviation notices indicate that HyImpulse could attempt the second flight of its SR75 suborbital rocket from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland as early as 5 October.
On 2 September, Norwegian air navigation service provider Avinor published a notice outlining temporary danger areas for a HyImpulse rocket launch from SaxaVord Spaceport between 5 and 18 October, with daily activity planned from 07:00 to 12:00 UTC. The notice follows an agreement signed in March between SaxaVord and HyImpulse covering the second flight of the company’s SR75 suborbital rocket from the Scottish spaceport.
While the Avinor notice does not outline any specifics about the flight, a UK Admiralty Notice to Mariners, which independently confirms the same launch window, states that the rocket is expected to travel approximately 135 kilometres north from SaxaVord, with the booster and nose cone expected to splash down separately following the flight.
HyImpulse’s environmental assessment submitted to the UK Civil Aviation Authority states that an SR75 launch campaign is expected to last around four weeks, beginning with the delivery of the rocket and ground-support equipment before progressing through assembly, movement to the launchpad, final preparations, countdown, flight and recovery. If the 5 October window is maintained, that timeline suggests launch hardware could begin arriving at SaxaVord during September.
The SR75 rocket that will be used for the flight is a 12-metre suborbital sounding rocket powered by a paraffin-based hybrid propulsion system. It is designed to carry payloads of up to 250 kilograms to altitudes of up to 200 kilometres and provide several minutes of microgravity before returning under parachute for recovery. HyImpulse conducted the rocket’s inaugural flight in May 2024 from Southern Launch’s Koonibba Test Range in Australia
HyImpulse has previously said that SR75’s first commercial flight carrying customer payloads would take place in 2026, although it has not yet disclosed whether customers will fly aboard the upcoming SaxaVord mission or identified any payloads for the flight.
In addition to serving as a commercial offering, SR75 is also being used as a technology demonstrator for HyImpulse’s larger SL1 orbital launch vehicle. This larger rocket is designed to carry payloads of up to 600 kilograms to low Earth orbit.
