Orbex

The company was founded in 2015 as Moonspike Ltd., with the goal of crowdfunding a private spacecraft mission to the moon.[2] A Kickstarter campaign running from 1 October to 1 November 2015 raised less than £79,000 ($122,000) out of a goal of £600,000 ($925,000), rendering Moonspike ineligible for the funds.[3] Moonspike was renamed Orbital Express Launch Ltd. in 2016, with the company now aiming to provide commercial launch services of nano- and microsatellites, especially CubeSats, to polar and sun-synchronous low Earth orbits.[4] In July 2018, Orbex secured £30 million ($39.6 million) in public and private funding for the development of its orbital rocket system, named Prime.[1][5] Orbex plans to construct a factory for Prime in Scotland that will eventually employ 150 people.[1] Currently, the company is working on the approval of the Sutherland spaceport in northern Scotland, and is developing the Prime vehicle.

The Sutherland spaceport in northern Scotland was initially intended to be shared with Rocket Lab to launch their Electron rocket, but since the two vehicles (Electron and Prime) use different propellants, the two companies would have separate launch pads while sharing some common infrastructure, however, planning for the site includes only one launchpad.[1][6][7] The company also plans to launch from a future Portuguese spaceport in the Azores.[8][9]

Prime

Second stage engineering prototype of the Prime orbital rocket
Function	Small payloads to low Earth orbit
Manufacturer	Orbex
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Size
Height	19 m (62 ft) [9]
Diameter	1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) [10]
Mass	18,000 kg (40,000 lb) [9]
Stages	2 [9]
Capacity
Payload to SSO (500 km or 310 mi)
Mass	150 kg (330 lb)[1][11]
Associated rockets
Comparable	Shavit, Kaituozhe-1, Unha, Electron, Miura 5
Launch history
Status	Under development
Launch sites	Proposed: Sutherland spaceport,[11] Azores spaceport [9]
Launch date	Proposed: 2022[12]
First stage
Diameter	1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)
Engines	6 [9]
Fuel	LOX / bioLPG[9]
Second stage
Diameter	1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)
Engines	1 [9]
Fuel	LOX / bioLPG [9]

Orbex is currently developing a light launch vehicle called Prime, and its booster (1st stage) is planned to be reusable.[10][11] The rocket's diameter is 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in), and will use a non-toxic bi-propellant consisting of liquid oxygen and propane.[1] One cited advantage of using propane is that it remains liquid at cryogenic temperatures, which enables a design where a central carbon-fiber tank of propane is surrounded by an outer tank of liquid oxygen, creating a light structural mass.[1] It will be capable of launching payloads up to 150 kilograms (330 lb) to a standard 500 km Sun-synchronous orbit.[1][11]

The maiden flight of Prime is expected to occur by early 2022,[12] and it will be for Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. Orbex also announced it was chosen by nanosatellite startup Astrocast to launch their communications satellites.[13]

• Skyrora, another British launch service provider
• Virgin Orbit, a smallsat launch provider
• Black Arrow, a retired British rocket
• PLD Space, another European smallsat launcher
• NewSpace