 | |
| Company type | Commercial launch services |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2015; 11 years ago (2015) as Moonspike Ltd |
| Founder | Chris Larmour,Kristian von Bengtson |
| Headquarters | , Scotland, United Kingdom[1] |
Key people | Phillip Chambers (CEO)[2] |
| Products | Prime launch vehicle |
Number of employees | 170[3] (2024) |
| Website | orbex |
Orbital Express Launch Ltd., orOrbex, is a United Kingdom-based[4]aerospace company that is developing commercialorbital launch vehicles, namely a small rocket calledPrime and a medium-lift rocket called Proxima.[5] Orbex is headquartered inForres,Moray, inScotland and has subsidiaries inDenmark andGermany. Orbex may build its future launch complex,Sutherland spaceport, on theA' Mhòine peninsula in the county ofSutherland, northernScotland, if and when deemed necessary.[6][7] After failed takeover talks withThe Exploration Company, Orbex beganinsolvency proceedings in February 2026.[8][9]
Orbex initially intended to share theSutherland spaceport in northernScotland withLockheed Martin, who at the time did not have a launch vehicle, but their strategic shareholding inRocket Lab led to speculation that they would launch with the Rocket LabElectron rocket, but since the two vehicles (Electron and Prime) use different propellants, the two companies would have separatelaunch pads while sharing some common infrastructure. The planning application for the site, however, includes only one launchpad. Lockheed Martin then moved their launch plans to a competing site,SaxaVord Spaceport, in theShetland Isles.[1][10][11] Orbex also plans to launch from a future spaceport in the PortugueseAzores.[12][13]
The company was founded in 2015 as Moonspike Ltd., with the goal of crowdfunding a private spacecraft mission to the Moon.[14] AKickstarter campaign running from 1 October to 1 November 2015 raised less than £79,000 out of a goal of £600,000, rendering Moonspike ineligible for the funds.[15] Moonspike was renamed Orbital Express Launch Ltd. in 2016, with the company now aiming to provide commercial launch services of nano- and microsatellites, especiallyCubeSats, topolar andSun-synchronous low Earth orbits.[16]
In July 2018, Orbex secured £30 million in public and private funding for the development of its orbital rocket system, namedPrime.[1][17] In October 2022 Orbex closed a £40.4 million Series C funding round.[18][19] Orbex has opened a factory for Prime in Forres, Scotland that employs 150 people.[3]
In April 2024, it was reported that the company received $20.7 million in a Series D funding round, with the bulk of the funds going towards development of thePrime launch vehicle.[20] In November 2024, Orbex announced that the first launch of Prime would be conducted fromSaxaVord Spaceport instead of Sutherland.[6]
In July 2025, Orbex was preselected, along with four other European companies, byESA for itsEuropean Launcher Challenge with funding of up to €169 million per company.[21]
In December 2025,The Exploration Company (TEC) entered talks to acquire Orbex, with the companies signing aletter of intent in January 2026,[8] but in February 2026 talks collapsed;Financial Times reported this was after TEC "failed to win UK government funding for its high-thrust rocket engine programme, according to two people close to the situation."[9] After talks collapsed, Orbex enteredinsolvency proceedings.[8]
Orbex's Danish subsidiary went bankrupt in January 2026.[9]