WASHINGTON -- Small launch vehicle developer Orbex will halt work on its own launch site in northern Scotland and instead use a rival facility in the Shetland Islands.
Orbex announced Dec. 4 that it would "pause" construction of Sutherland Spaceport in Scotland and instead use the SaxaVord Spaceport on the island of Unst in the Shetlands for its Prime launch vehicle.
The move, Orbex said, will free up resources to allow the company to focus on launch vehicle development, including both Prime and a new medium-class vehicle called Proxima.
"Orbex is first and foremost a launch services specialist. Our primary goal is to support the European space industry by achieving a sustainable series of satellite launches into low Earth orbit. This is best achieved by focusing our resources and talents on developing launch vehicles and associated launch services," Phil Chambers, chief executive of Orbex, said in a statement.
"This decision will help us to reach first launch in 2025 and provides SaxaVord with another customer to further strengthen its commercial proposition. It's a win-win for U.K. and Scottish space," he added.
Orbex had been linked to Spaceport Sutherland since the U.K. Space Agency announced in 2018 it selected the site for a vertical launch complex. The agency awarded contracts to both Orbex and Lockheed Martin to conduct launches from the site.
Lockheed Martin, partnered with ABL Space Systems, subsequently shifted its launch to SaxaVord; ABL announced Nov. 15 it was pivoting from launch to missile defense. Orbex, though, continued to work on the Sutherland launch site, going through a years-long approval process that the company said in 2023 was complete.
The shift from Sutherland to SaxaVord took many by surprise. As recently as November Orbex continued to move ahead with work at Sutherland, including releasing tenders for construction work on the next phases of the facility. It also won approvals to shift tracking antennas to a nearby mountaintop.
Orbex had not disclosed the full cost of developing the spaceport, which had backing of more than 14 million pounds ($17.8 million) from various government organizations. The company did not state how much it will save by launching from SaxaVord, which will still require construction of facilities to support Prime.
"The decision enables us to direct more funding to the development of our rockets," an Orbex spokesperson told SpaceNews, without quantifying that funding. "We will have exclusive use of our own pad at the SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland and we are in the early stages of assessing the infrastructure we need to support the launch of Prime."
The move helps cement SaxaVord's status as one of U.K.'s leading launch sites following challenges faced by other sites like Spaceport Cornwall after Virgin Orbit's bankruptcy.
"We're delighted to welcome Orbex to SaxaVord," Frank Strang, chief executive of SaxaVord Spaceport said in a statement. "Given their ambition...it makes sense for Orbex..."