Skyrora has revealed that a launch attempt of its Skylark L rocket from Iceland has ended in failure, with the rocket falling into the Norwegian Sea.
In April, the UK-based launch startup published an article calling on the Icelandic government to grant the company permission to launch the maiden flight of its 11-metre suborbital Skylark L rocket. The article blamed bureaucracy for delaying the “biggest launch from European soil.”
Skyrora appears to have received the permission it was looking for, despite the lack of any public fanfare of it or the launch attempt that followed.
The launch took place on 8 October from a site in Langanes, Iceland. The launch was the launch startup’s first attempt to reach space. However, after the Skylark L left the launch pad, it experienced an anomaly that resulted in the rocket falling back down to Earth and landing in the cold Norwegian Sea just 500 metres away from the launchpad. The company has not yet shared any video from the launch attempt.
“With over three decades in the business, I can assure you that despite the best design, build, and test preparations, anomalies still, unfortunately, do happen,” said COO Lee Rosen. “Skyrora’s launch attempt of Skylark L has provided the team with valuable experience in operations procedures, logistics coordination, and execution of the rapid setup and pack-down of our mobile launch complex, experience which will propel us forward monumentally in our mission to reach orbit.”
According to Skyrora, no people or wildlife were harmed. Recovery of the vehicle is underway, with the team likely eager to discover what went wrong.
The Skylark L launch was expected to be a stepping stone towards a maiden orbital launch attempt of its Skyrora XL vehicle in 2023. Despite Rosen’s optimism, the failure will likely push the company’s timeline back, delaying that maiden flight into orbit.
