Scottish rocket startup nears collapse despite £26m in taxpayer loans

A picture


A British space company hoping to launch the first homegrown rocket from Scotland is on the brink of collapse, threatening 150 jobs and throwing doubt over the UK’s extraterrestrial ambitions,Orbex, which is based in the Scottish Highlands, is lining up administrators as hopes fade that it will strike a rescue deal or raise funds, despite having been handed £26m in government loans last year,The startup had planned to launch a rocket from a base on the Shetland Islands and was “on the cusp” of holding its first test flights in 2026, according to its chief executive, Phil Chambers,The company had also been in talks to raise fresh cash from the Treasury-backed National Wealth Fund, but that deal fell through at an “early stage” of discussions late last year, a source with knowledge of the situation said,Launch plans were also hit by repeated delays and Orbex eventually turned to a potential German buyer, The Exploration Company, which is developing a reusable spacecraft.

On Wednesday, Orbex said it had examined several merger and acquisition options in an effort to stay afloat but none of had come to fruition,“Disappointing doesn’t come close to describing how we feel about this moment,” Chambers said,“We have been successfully developing a sustainable, world-class sovereign space launch capability for the UK and were on the cusp of our first test flights later this year,”He added: “It is no secret that designing and building space rockets to enable a launch service is a capital-intensive, highly advanced process with a long development cycle that creates a ‘scale-up’ funding gap,Institutional support is a crucial to bridge this gap and we have worked tirelessly to try to find both funding or rescue solutions.

”Peter Kyle, the business secretary, approved £20m of taxpayer-funded loans to Orbex in January 2025, hailing its plan to launch small satellites into orbit as one that would “transform the UK space industry”.At the time, Dr Paul Bate, who steps down as chief executive of the UK Space Agency next month, said Orbex would “inspire a new generation to reach for the stars”.Last summer, Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, handed a further £6m loan to the startup, designed to help it pursue a £150m contract with the European Space Agency to aid the development of alternatives to Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the US.Orbex was planning to launch small satellites into orbit using its 19-metre long, low-carbon rockets.It had initially been developing its own home spaceport on the A’Mhòine peninsula in the Highlands, but was eventually forced to shelve the project and relocate its planned launches to SaxaVord, a base on the Shetland Islands.

The launch would have been the first from UK soil since the British billionaire Richard Branson’s failed Virgin Orbit mission in 2023,A government spokesperson said: “We remain committed to supporting our dynamic space sector,We recognise this will be a very worrying time for staff at Orbex,Space launch is a highly competitive sector, and it has always been the case that some companies will succeed, while others will fail,“We will be setting out more details about our plans for developing key national space capabilities, including launch, in due course.

Any decisions will be focused on ensuring maximum impact for taxpayers’ money,”
cultureSee all
A picture

Actor Catherine O’Hara died of a blood clot in her lungs, death certificate says

Catherine O’Hara, the Emmy-winning actor and beloved star of the series Schitt’s Creek and the 1990 hit movie Home Alone, died from a blood clot in her lungs, her death certificate revealed Monday.The death certificate released by the Los Angeles county medical examiner’s office also listed rectal cancer as an underlying cause.The Canadian-born performer was rushed to the hospital on 30 January after having difficulty breathing at her home in the ritzy Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.The 71-year-old, who starred in Beetlejuice and more recently in Apple TV’s Hollywood satire show The Studio, was declared dead a short time later.The actor’s death sent shock waves through Hollywood with tributes pouring in from past co-stars – including Schitt’s Creek creators Eugene and Dan Levy, Beetlejuice’s Michael Keaton and Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin

A picture

‘We recorded it in a kitchen!’ How China Crisis made Black Man Ray

Ed and I had just come off a long tour of Europe and North America supporting Simple Minds and needed a break. I immersed myself in music-making with a synth, drum machine and a four-track Tascam Portastudio. I was very inspired by Brian Eno. I’d seen the words “found sounds” on his album credits. The notion that any sound could be included in a recording struck me as magical

A picture

Super Bowl: Bad Bunny, the ads and everything but the football – as it happened

Well, I could not tell you a thing about that game – I’ve heard that it was a boring outcome for a boring match-up – but it does not matter: the real winner tonight was Bad Bunny, who delivered a raucous, intricate and wildly ambitious half-time show that exceeded already sky-high expectations. With the world watching and many in the US government actively rooting against him (you can guess who took to Truth Social already), the Puerto Rican artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio thoroughly stomped on the haters with an exuberant 13-minute show that both honored his roots and championed an expansive view of American unity.It’s hard to overstate how much pressure Bad Bunny was under, as the first all Spanish-language half-time performer at a time when the US government is profiling Spanish speakers for its brutal immigration enforcement campaign. But Benito made the whole affair feel light as a feather, from the sugar cane fields to the bodegas to the rollicking casita party to a full-on real wedding (and surprise duet with Latino pop trailblazer Ricky Martin). Truly, this set was exquisite

A picture

Perth festival 2026: Swan River bursts to life with a stunning trail of stories and light

From dazzling light installations to unexpected conversations on pop-up phones, Perth festival has opened with a timely celebration of culture and communityGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAs families gather for sunset at Perth’s Kings Park, a giant golden orb glows on the horizon, shooting ribbons of light into the night sky.“It looks like an upside down jellyfish!” a child shouts gleefully, gazing up at this mysterious beacon. Others watch from park benches or drift slowly around its base, as a gentle wash of sound spills from its centre. The work is called Karla Bidi, translating to “fire trail” in Noongar: a light and sound installation that draws on the ancient practice of lighting campfires along the Derbarl Yerrigan (Swan River), which marks the opening of this year’s Perth festival.Featuring 11 installations stretching from Mandoon (Guildford) to Walyalup (Fremantle), Karla Bidi lights a path between communities along the river – a trail of gathering places that recalls how these banks have always been a place for story and connection

A picture

Porky Pig and Daffy Duck: ‘Jacob Elordi! That hair! Those dreamboat eyes!’

Ducks typically live between five and 10 years, and pigs 10 to 20. You first appeared on screen in 1935 and 1937, which makes you 91 and 89, respectively. What’s your secret to your eternally youthful looks?Daffy Duck: Firtht of all, it’s very rude to comment on a duck’s age. Thecond of all, thank you for noticing how youthful I look. My thecret is very thimple – moisturise daily, stay hydrated and tell the artist who draws you to take out any wrinkles

A picture

The Guide #229: How an indie movie distributed by a lone gamer broke the US box office

Two very unusual films were released last weekend. One you will have absolutely heard of: Melania, the soft-focus hagiocumentary of the US first lady, which was plonked into thousands and thousands of often entirely empty cinemas across the globe by Amazon and Jeff Bezos in what is widely perceived as a favour-currier to the White House. Melania’s $7m takings in the US were marginally better than forecasted (and far ahead of the risible numbers for the film elsewhere) but, given the documentary’s vast cost, still represents a dramatic loss (especially if the rumour that Amazon paid for the film to be in some cinemas is true). Then again, this was a rare multimillion dollar film where the primary marker of success was probably not financial.The other unusual film released last weekend you are less likely to have heard of, even though it dwarfed Melania’s takings