The European small satellite launch sector has suffered a setback with the collapse of UK-based rocket developer Orbex, casting uncertainty over parts of the United Kingdom’s independent space ambitions while highlighting resilience among remaining competitors in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Launcher Challenge.
On February 11, 2026, Orbex announced it had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators—a UK insolvency process similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States—after exhausting avenues for new investment, a merger, or a sale.
The company, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Scotland, had been a flagship hope for sovereign UK orbital launch capabilities. Despite securing significant government support, including £26 million in taxpayer-backed loans, Orbex could not secure the necessary Series D funding or complete a previously discussed acquisition by French space startup The Exploration Company.
Earlier challenges included shutting down its Danish rocket engine subsidiary and laying off around 90 employees in January 2026, with the administration process now jeopardizing an additional 150 skilled jobs primarily in Scotland.
Orbex’s flagship vehicle, the Prime microlauncher, was a two-stage rocket standing 19 meters tall and measuring over 1.5 meters in diameter—broadly comparable in scale to Rocket Lab’s Electron but with a more modest payload capacity suited to dedicated small satellite missions.
Prime incorporated forward-thinking design choices: it used bio-propane (a renewable fuel derived from sustainable sources) combined with liquid oxygen, promising up to 90% lower carbon emissions than conventional kerosene-based RP-1 propellants. The rocket also featured a lightweight carbon-fiber composite structure to maximize efficiency and reduce overall mass.
The company had been media-shy ahead of the announcement of the administration process, but interestingly decided to show views of Prime vehicles being constructed on Monday.
Images showed integrated second stage and fairing structures, with two other second-stage tank assemblies, along with first-stage tank components, ready to be assembled and integrated into a full first-stage.
Orbex also showed a close-up of the integrated second stage structure, showing the fairing and avionics bay assembled in flight configuration onto the second stage tank assembly, with the interstage and first stage.
“Orbex was a company of likeminded, determined and highly skilled people all with a common goal to launch rockets into space from UK soil,” noted Andy Bradford, Chief Technology Officer of Orbex. “These images are testament to the progress we had made, and demonstrates the technological advancement we were making.”
Orbex had secured multiple customer satellites and planned initial test flights from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland’s Shetland Islands later in 2026, with longer-term development of a larger vehicle called Proxima.
The company’s infrastructure efforts included breaking ground on the Sutherland Spaceport on Scotland’s north coast in 2023 under a 50-year lease secured in late 2022. However, construction was paused indefinitely by late 2024 as Orbex shifted focus to operations at SaxaVord, leaving the Sutherland site partially developed.
In the wake of Orbex’s troubles, Scottish rival Skyrora quickly signaled interest in acquiring select assets. On February 12, 2026, Skyrora confirmed it intends to explore purchasing items including the Sutherland Spaceport lease, potentially investing up to £10 million ($13.6 million) subject to due diligence and administrator approval.
Skyrora emphasized that such a move would be “vital to preserving UK space capability, protecting national critical infrastructure, and ensuring that technology and intellectual property developed in the UK remains under UK ownership.”
As the only UK company currently holding a domestic vertical orbital launch license—with manufacturing in Cumbernauld and testing capabilities—Skyrora positioned itself as ideally placed to absorb and advance Orbex’s legacy, safeguarding taxpayer investments already made.
The Orbex failure directly affects the European Launcher Challenge, ESA’s strategic initiative launched to foster competitive, commercial European launch services and reduce reliance on non-European providers.
In July 2025, ESA shortlisted five companies—Orbex, PLD Space (France), MaiaSpace (France), Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA, Germany), and Isar Aerospace (Germany)—with framework contracts expected in 2026. Participants must demonstrate a successful orbital launch by 2027 at the latest to confirm eligibility for ESA procurement commitments through 2030.
ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher had previously expressed flexibility on the participant count, prioritizing proven flight performance over unproven potential and aiming to nurture scalable capabilities comparable to Ariane 6 in the longer term.
With Orbex’s trajectory now uncertain, the program effectively stands at four active contenders. Isar Aerospace already conducted an initial flight of its Spectrum rocket, providing valuable data.
Meanwhile, Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) delivered a positive update this week on its RFA One vehicle.
RFA secured the UK’s first vertical orbital launch operator license in early 2025, authorizing up to 10 launches per year from SaxaVord’s Launch Pad Fredo.
The company, backed by ESA funding under the Launcher Challenge, reported that pad infrastructure is nearly complete: a 52-meter umbilical tower for propellant transfer and rocket support stands ready, the launch control center (housing mission and range control) is operational, and facilities include a hangar for assembly, integration, and testing plus a payload clean room.
Technical Update! The past few weeks and months have been very busy at RFA. Everything is being prepared for the next first stage hot fire, and great progress has been made on our launch pad and at @SaxaVord_Space.
Let´s take a closer look:
Most visible and impressive: the… pic.twitter.com/SNbCMcPmJz
— Rocket Factory Augsburg (@rfa_space) February 10, 2026
The primary remaining element is installation of water tanks for the flame deluge system to suppress acoustic and thermal loads during liftoff. RFA plans imminent pad tests and targets a maiden flight in the second half of 2026, which—if successful—would mark the UK’s historic first vertical orbital launch.
Recent ESA contracts under the Flight Ticket Initiative have booked additional missions on RFA One, underscoring growing confidence.
The Orbex collapse underscores the intense financial and technical hurdles facing new entrants in the small-launch market, where development costs, regulatory delays, and competition from established players like Rocket Lab create formidable barriers.
Yet the European Launcher Challenge remains robustly funded, and the remaining participants’ progress—particularly RFA’s infrastructure advancements at SaxaVord—suggests Europe’s push for independent, competitive access to space endures despite this setback.
The coming months will clarify whether Orbex’s assets, including intellectual property and the Sutherland site, find new life under Skyrora or elsewhere, potentially preserving elements of the UK’s launch ecosystem.
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