Rockets made in Lanarkshire should reach space next year, company says
A Scottish company aims to send its rockets into space from 2026, following an attempt at a suborbital launch later this year.
Skyrora is building its first 23-metre rocket called XL at a factory in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, with the goal of sending small satellites into space.
An attempt to launch a smaller rocket called Skylark from Iceland ended in failure in October 2022, when a software problem led to it falling into the sea just after lift-off.
A number of companies are working to become the first to launch satellites into space from European soil, with several planning on using SaxaVord Spaceport on the Shetland Islands.
At least two hope to carry out launches by the end of this year, while a spaceport in Norway is also preparing for a launch attempt.
Germany's RFA is thought to have the most advanced plans and it was officially licensed for spaceflight by the regulator last month.
Alan Thompson, Skyrora's head of government affairs, said the Glasgow-based company is keen to carry out its next flight attempt from the UK, where its factory and testing site are based.
He told the PA news agency it hopes to launch Skylark – which will not deploy satellites into space – as a 'proof of concept' from SaxaVord around this summer, though discussions with the spaceport's owners are ongoing.
He said: 'We are hoping to get the fire testing done by the end of the year.
'If we are fortunate, then hopefully we will get launch windows for next year for XL.'
He said 2026 is the 'realistic' timescale for launching XL, which can carry up to 315kg to a sun-synchronous orbit.
Its first stage will use nine engines firing together, and Skyrora aims to do its first test-firing of the full stage in the second half of this year.
Ultimately the company wants to achieve a regular schedule of launches, going from two or three initially to as many as six after a few years.
Mr Thompson told Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee earlier this month that the company had chosen Iceland as the site of its first launch attempt due to regulatory delays in the UK – saying it had 'got tired of waiting'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
Mayor demands action after Scots shot dead in Spanish bar
The mayor of Fuengirola has called for more police resources to combat organised crime-related violence on the Costa del Mula said she was demanding action after two Scottish men - Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, and Ross Monaghan, 43 - were shot dead in a pub on the town's seafront on followed a series of assaults, shootings and firebombings across Glasgow and Edinburgh since March which have resulted in more than 30 detectives are also examining whether the murders are linked to wider tensions between major global crime groups. BBC Scotland News has been told that Eddie Jnr's brother Steven Lyons has links to the Kinahan crime Dubai-based group is wanted by the US government for drugs and firearms trafficking, money laundering and was the focus of a recent BBC documentary series, Kinahan: The True Story of Ireland's have been high among criminal groups in the Costa del Sol since the arrest last November of one of Spain's top police officers.Óscar Sánchez Gil was the head of the fraud and anti-money laundering division of Spain's national police force in Madrid until €20m (£17m) was found hidden in the walls of his house, as part of an investigation into the country's largest-ever cocaine have told BBC Scotland News that the scandal has triggered a number of subsequent drug seizures and it has also increased distrust among crime groups and the ripple effects may be a factor in a recent spate of shootings in the region. The violence has led to a direct appeal from the mayor of Fuengirola following a meeting with officials including the commanders of the national and local Mula said: "We live in a world and at a time where crime knows no borders."In places like the Costa del Sol, we're seeing developments that, as they spread, inevitably affect us."We need much greater involvement from the state on this issue."She also called for the deployment of more police officers who specialise in organised mayor added: "I intend to be relentless in demanding action on this."It's a top priority for our community and our city." Costa del Sol shootings Graphic footage of the aftermath of the shootings in Monaghan's bar was broadcast on Spanish TV on from the bar showed the lone gunman chasing critically-injured Monaghan before he stumbled and fell to the bystanders, thought to be a waitress and another man in black, can be seen running away from the suspect appeared to be wearing a black baseball cap, a black jacket, black shorts and had a white T-shirt round his neck, which he is thought to have used to hide his face before opening indoor lounge bar was deserted at the time but a number of customers, who had been watching the Champions League final, were outside where Lyons Jnr was shot have told BBC Scotland News the murders would have required significant planning and timing, just half an hour before the bar closed, would also have been carefully chosen. The double murder follows the fatal shooting nearly six weeks ago of a 32-year-old British man in nearby Calahonda, a 15-minute drive from was targeted around 20:00 on 21 April in a professional hit as he headed back to his car after playing in a football match with are treating the shooting as drugs-related but have yet to make any victim has not been named but was known to come from at the time described the incident as the fourth shooting so far that month on the Costa del Sol, where rival gangs have increasingly used extreme violence to settle scores and a number of international mafias are known to have a days before the Calahonda shooting, a 34-year-old man was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella after being shot outside a nightclub in the famous Costa del Sol is understood detectives will examine the earlier Spanish incidents to see if they can establish any links between these and Saturday's murders.A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: "We are providing support to the families of two British men who died in Fuengirola and are in contact with the local authorities."
Powys County Times
20 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Newark mayor sues federal prosecutor after arrest at immigration detention site
Newark mayor Ras Baraka has sued New Jersey's top federal prosecutor over his arrest on a trespassing charge, which was later dropped, at a federal immigration detention facility. Mr Baraka, who leads New Jersey's biggest city, is a candidate in a crowded primary field for the Democratic nomination for governor next Tuesday. The lawsuit against interim US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba coincided with the day early in-person voting began. The lawsuit seeks damages for 'false arrest and malicious prosecution', and also accuses Ms Habba of defamation for comments she made about his case. Citing a post on X in which Ms Habba said Mr Baraka 'committed trespass', the lawsuit says Ms Habba issued a 'defamatory statement' and authorised his 'false arrest' despite 'clear evidence that Mayor Baraka had not committed the petty offence of 'defiant trespass'.' The suit also names Ricky Patel, the Homeland Security Investigations agent in charge in Newark. Emails seeking comment were left with Ms Habba's office and the Homeland Security Department, where Mr Patel works. The episode outside the Delaney Hall federal immigration detention centre has had dramatic fallout. It began on May 9 when Mr Baraka tried to join three Democratic members of Congress — Rob Menendez, LaMonica McIver and Bonnie Watson Coleman — who went to the facility for an oversight tour, something authorised under federal law. Mr Baraka, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and the detention centre, was denied entry. Video from the event showed him walking from the facility side of the fence to the street side, where other people had been protesting, and then uniformed officials came to arrest him. As they did, people could be heard in the video saying to protect the mayor. The video shows a crowd forming and pushing as officials led off a handcuffed Baraka. He was initially charged with trespass, but Ms Habba dropped that charge and charged Ms McIver with two counts of assaulting officers stemming from her role in the skirmish at the facility's gate. Ms McIver decried the charges and signalled she plans to fight them. A preliminary hearing is scheduled later this month. Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility, opened earlier this year as a federal immigration detention facility. Florida-based Geo Group Inc, which owns and operates the property, was awarded a 15-year contract valued at one billion dollars in February. The announcement was part of the president's plans to sharply increase detention beds nationwide from a budget of about 41,000 beds this year. Mr Baraka sued Geo soon after that deal was announced. Then, on May 23, the Trump Justice Department filed a suit against Newark and three other New Jersey cities over their so-called sanctuary policies. There is no legal definition for sanctuary city policies, but they generally limit co-operation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers. New Jersey's attorney general has a statewide directive in place prohibiting local police from collaborating in federal civil immigration matters. The policies are aimed at barring co-operation on civil enforcement matters, not at blocking cooperation on criminal matters. They specifically carve out exceptions for when Immigration and Customs Enforcement supplies police with a judicial criminal warrant. The Justice Department said, though, the cities will not notify ICE when they have made criminal arrests, according to the suit. It is unclear whether Mr Baraka's role in these fights with the Trump administration is having an effect on his campaign for governor. He is one of six candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the June 10 election to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Phil Murphy. In a video ad in the election's final weeks, Mr Baraka has embraced a theme his rivals are also pushing: affordability. He says he will cut taxes. While some of the images show him standing in front of what appears to be Delaney Hall, he does not mention immigration or the arrest specifically, saying: 'I'll keep Trump out of your homes and out of your lives.' Mr Trump has endorsed Jack Ciattarelli, one of several Republicans running in the gubernatorial primary. Mr Ciattarelli has said if he is elected, his first executive order would be to end any sanctuary policies for immigrants in the country illegally.
Powys County Times
21 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Oil industry could see job cuts like Grangemouth every fortnight, report warns
The number of jobs in the UK oil and gas sector could plunge to just 57,000 in the next few years, with a report warning there could be the equivalent of 400 cut every fortnight. That level of job losses would be the same as the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery every two weeks, according to research by Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University. It said in 'low-case scenarios', where the UK makes 'slower progress' as the country transitions towards renewable energy, jobs in the oil and gas workforce would drop from 115,000 at present to 'as low as 57,000 by the early 2030s'. The report added this would be a 'reduction of around 400 jobs – equivalent to the closure of the Grangemouth refinery – every two weeks'. With almost one in 30 Scottish workers currently employed in either the offshore energy sector, or an industry which supports it – compared to one in 220 across the UK – it highlighted how the 'potential risks for Scotland's supply chain and workforce are substantial'. Figures for 2024 show there were 154,000 people employed in the offshore energy sector – with 75% in the oil and gas sector and the remaining 25% in renewables. The Striking The Balance report noted the production of oil is now down by 'almost 75% from its peak' in 1999-2000, when it produced the equivalent of 4.5 million barrels of oil per day. This has now dropped to 1.09 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, with the report noting that without new licences being granted 'the oil and gas industry is forecast to decline by around 95% by 2050 from 2024 levels'. The report said: 'Depending on which scenario will play out, the direct and indirect UK oil and gas workforce is expected to fall from 115,000 to between 57,000 and 71,000 by the early 2030s, with further declines to between 33,000 and 48,000 by 2035.' SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn challenged Westminster to act in the wake of the report. He said: 'The independent expert advice is clear, we will see a Grangemouth scale of job losses each and every fortnight if the UK Government does not shift from its misguided position and protect the energy industry of today, so that the workforce can use their skills and expertise to develop the net zero industries of tomorrow. 'The opportunities of net zero are enormous but they will not be realised if the Labour Government continues with its current fiscal regime that deters stability, confidence and investment in existing industries and we therefore lose our best people, and world-class supply chain, to nations elsewhere.' Scottish Conservative energy spokesman and North East Scotland MSP Douglas Lumsden insisted however that both the Scottish and UK governments need to change their approach. He said the 'alarming' report 'lays bare the economic vandalism caused by both Labour and the SNP's opposition to oil and gas'. He added: 'John Swinney and Keir Starmer have disgracefully sat back while jobs continue to be lost throughout the sector as both remain totally oblivious to the fact that renewables alone can't yet satisfy our energy needs.' Pressed on the issue in Holyrood, Scottish climate action minister Alasdair Allan vowed ministers will 'learn' from the report, saying: 'We hope the UK Government will too.' While some areas regarding energy are devolved to Holyrood, he added that others are reserved to Westminster and 'we must get helpful decisions from the UK Government'. He said the UK Government could provide a 'full funding package' for the Acorn carbon capture and storage project in Aberdeenshire in next week's comprehensive spending review. A spokesperson for the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'We have taken rapid steps to deliver the next generation of good jobs for North Sea workers in a fair and orderly transition as part of our Plan for Change, including by making the biggest investment in offshore wind and two first-of-a-kind carbon capture storage clusters.
