UK government announces £20million investment into Orbex, the UK rocket company

The UK government has recently announced a £20 million government investment to fund the construction and launch of the first UK-manufactured and UK-launched orbital rocket.

Orbex, the company receiving the funding, has already made huge advancements in the sector, including in 3D printing of rocket engines using an AMCM M4K 3D printer. With such a large Z axis capacity, this made it one of the largest high precision metal 3D printer available in Europe. 

Orbex’s rocket, Prime, will encourage economic investment and support high-skilled jobs, as part of the Plan for Change. The rocket is scheduled for launch later this year and will demonstrate the UK's ambition to be the leader of the European launch industry.  This investment is also a welcome sign of the continued ambition of the still-young Labour government to grow the UK space sector.

We will need continued research and innovation to realise our long-term goals;  among the technologies needed for this industry are turbopumps, cryogenic valves, software, and other advanced materials / manufacturing processes. The United Kingdom has the technical expertise and scientific talent needed, and we look forward to seeing what exciting inventions emerge in the coming years.

If you are an aerospace or engineering supplier working in the space sector or are keen to join the supply chain for one of the fastest growing sectors, then please do reach out – you can contact me or a member of our fantastic space technology team. We would be very keen to talk about a strategy for registering and commercialising your intellectual property.