German launch startup HyImpulse has pushed the second flight of its SR75 suborbital rocket into spring 2027.
On 1 October, HyImpulse announced that it had secured a launch operator licence from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to operate its SR75 rocket from SaxaVord in Scotland. With the announcement, the company said the rocket’s first flight from the UK is now planned for spring 2027. Just a month earlier, on 2 September, the company had said the flight would occur at the “end of 2026.”
HyImpulse said the new target was based on its assessment of the remaining activities required under the licence framework and the seasonal weather conditions at SaxaVord, rather than on the vehicle’s readiness.
“Based on the current assessment of these remaining activities with the CAA and the seasonal weather conditions at SaxaVord Spaceport during autumn and winter, HyImpulse is preparing for the flight of its SR75 suborbital launch vehicle from European soil in spring 2027.”
Although HyImpulse has now secured its launch operator licence, which authorises it to conduct one SR75 flight per 12-month period, the approval does not by itself clear the company to launch. HyImpulse must first satisfy a number of conditions, including requirements relating to insurance, final range and hazard-area arrangements, and data-sharing with the UK’s National Space Operations Centre, with some required information due as early as 60 days before the intended launch window.
HyImpulse does appear to have already been working toward fulfilling some of those requirements even before the licence was approved. In September, maritime and aviation notices were issued for the first SR75 launch from SaxaVord, with a window opening on 5 October and running through 18 October. However, the company’s preparations do appear to have fallen short of what was required, pushing the planned launch back to no earlier than March 2027.
The flight from SaxaVord will be HyImpulse’s second SR75 mission and its first to carry commercial payloads. The company completed an initial test flight of the suborbital rocket on 3 May 2024 from the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia. The single-stage rocket uses HyImpulse’s paraffin-and-liquid-oxygen hybrid propulsion system, which will also power the company’s three-stage SL1 orbital launcher.
