The UK Space Agency has awarded £5 million (5.94 million) in new funding to HyImpulse to launch its suborbital SR75 rocket from SaxaVord in Scotland. The launch was one of more than 20 national space projects that received a combined £33 million in funding.
According to the UK Space Agency (UKSA), £33 million in funding will come from the agency’s National Space Innovation Programme. This programme was created to facilitate investment in “high-potential technologies” that could drive innovation and foster growth.
A 22 July UKSA press release initially stated that the amount awarded to HyImpulse for its Sustainable Hybrid: Accelerated Rocket Programme (SHARP) would be £5 million. A subsequent press release from the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland clarified the exact amount as £4,995,000.
HyImpulse will partner with Cranfield University, Birmingham University and the AVICON Partnership for the SHARP project. It aims to conduct a launch of the German rocket builder’s SR75 sounding rocket from UK the SaxaVord Spaceport. This launch will aid in the project’s final goal which is for HyImpulse to finish building the second stage of its SL1 rocket which will be capable of deploying payloads into orbit.
The funding for SHARP is not the first to be awarded to HyImpulse by the UK government. In December 2022, the company received £399,000 in funding to create a UK-based test programme for its hybrid rocket motors. A year later in December 2023, it received £3.4 million from the agency through ESA’s Boost! programme “to enable spaceflight activities from UK spaceports.” UKSA expects its investments in the company to have significant payoff in the coming years.
In a 23 April press release, UKSA announced that HyImpulse intends to invest up to €50 million in the UK over the next three years. According to the agency, the investment and the company’s activities in the UK will create approximately 70 new jobs.
HyImpulse is also not the only German rocket builder to receive funding from the UK government to launch from SaxaVord. In November 2023 it was announced that Rocket Factory Augsburg had received £3.5 million to conduct RFA ONE flights from the Scottish launch facility.
