Skyrora has completed a 45-second static hot-fire test of a scaled-down version of its Skyrora XL orbital launch vehicle at Machrihanish on the west coast of Scotland. The test gathered performance data on the rocket's pressurisation system and engine characteristics, including propellant flow rate and chamber pressure.

According to the company, initial data indicates that subsystems operated successfully throughout the firing. The engineering team is now collating and analysing the results before conducting a second test.

Test Vehicle Validates Subsystems Ahead of Full-Scale Rocket

The test vehicle was built to validate subsystems and components similar to those intended for the full-size Skyrora XL rocket. By conducting testing at reduced scale, the company aims to identify and resolve issues early in development, when modifications are cheaper and faster to implement than problems discovered later in the programme.

Dr Jack James Marlow, Skyrora's chief operating officer, explained the company's approach to development:

You don't build confidence in an orbital launch vehicle by waiting until the finished rocket is on the launchpad. You build it through thousands of decisions, measurements and tests along the way. This scaled-down XL system lets us test and validate the technology, subsystems and components together, understand how they perform and make improvements before scaling up to the full vehicle. Our approach is simple: test, learn, refine and test again, so that when Skyrora XL reaches the pad, we have confidence grounded in evidence.

Skyrora's development methodology emphasises repeated testing and validation of integrated systems before scaling to the full vehicle. Work will progress through larger and more demanding trials before components are integrated into the orbital rocket.

Skyrora XL: Three-Stage Orbital Launch Vehicle

Skyrora XL is a three-stage rocket designed to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit. The company is headquartered in Scotland and designs, manufactures and tests its vehicles and engines at Cumbernauld, in addition to developing its Skylark L suborbital vehicle, propulsion technology and additive manufacturing capabilities.

In 2025, Skyrora became the first British launch vehicle manufacturer to receive a launch operator licence from the Civil Aviation Authority, permitting a suborbital launch of Skylark L from SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst in Shetland.

Machrihanish: Cold War RAF Station to Aerospace Testing Facility

Machrihanish, on the Kintyre peninsula, was a Royal Air Force station and NATO forward operating base during the Cold War. The site's runway remains among the longest in Europe. The facility has since been taken into community ownership and now hosts a range of engineering and aerospace tenants, including Skyrora.

UK Space Launch and Sovereign Capability

Domestic launch capacity has assumed greater strategic importance in recent UK policy. Speaking to the House of Lords this week, Lord Coaker stated that British national security depends on freedom of action in space, including the ability to protect British and allied space assets. He indicated that investment in space resilience is being directed through the UK Space Strategy and the Defence Investment Plan.

Lord Coaker highlighted that sovereign launch capability matters to national defence because a satellite replaced quickly after being lost or degraded is worth considerably more than one waiting for a slot on another nation's launch vehicle.

Skyrora's test programme at Machrihanish represents continued progress toward the company's orbital launch objectives within Scotland's developing commercial space sector.

Related reading: SaxaVord Spaceport: Shetland's Path to Orbital Launch | Skyrora Receives CAA Launch Operator Licence | Scottish Launch Sites: Progress and Timeline