Skyrora is aiming to carry out orbital launches from SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Isles once it gets its licence from the Civil Aviation Authority. Its licence application was submitted in 2022.
New 3D-printed rocket engines are being tested at the largest UK facility of its kind ahead of a potential space launch.
Edinburgh-based Skyrora made them using its own Skyprint 2 machine for the first time, which the company says halves production time and reduces costs compared to previous designs.
The new model will be put through its paces at a test hub in Midlothian, on the site of a disused quarry. It is the biggest rocket testing facility in the UK.
Trials will take place every week over the summer, with each tasking the engine with running for 250 seconds — the same amount of time it would need to run in a real mission to reach orbit.
Skyrora chief executive and founder Volodymyr Levykin, originally from Ukraine, said the new engines brought the company closer towards its first commercial orbital launch.
