The UK Space Agency has awarded £6.7 million in funding to Orbex and HyImpulse to “help cement the UK’s position as Europe’s leading destination for commercial spaceflight activities.”
HyImpulse was awarded £3.4 million to undertake its “Hybrid Propulsion Test Programme” which will precede the proposed maiden flight of the company’s SL1 launch vehicle from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. In addition to the funding awarded by the UK Space Agency, the German space agency DLR contributed an additional €2.5 million in funding bringing the total award for HyImpulse to approximately €6.5 million.
Orbex received £3.3 million to conduct “activities to ensure it is environmentally sustainable.” These activities will include the installation of a green propellant plant at Sutherland Spaceport in Scotland that will be used to produce “clean propane” from plant and vegetable waste.
“Our investment in both Orbex and HyImpulse demonstrates our continued commitment to make the UK Europe’s leading destination for launch by encouraging the development of launch companies,” said UK Space Agency director of launch Matt Archer. “These contracts will help Orbex to develop the launch site at Sutherland Spaceport and HyImpulse to prepare for their first launch from SaxaVord Spaceport.”
The £6.7 in funding was awarded through the European Space Agency’s Boost! programme, which aims to foster new European commercial space transportation services. To date, the UK Space Agency has contributed £24 million in funding towards the Boost! programme.
This most recent round of Boost! awards is the second received by both companies. HyImpulse received €500,000 in Boost! funding in November 2020 as part of DLR’s microlauncher competition. In March 2021, Orbex received €7.45 million in Boost! funding.
Update: The article was updated to include the additional DLR award to HyImpulse.
