UK Space Mission Coming Soon In 2022, Promises To Tackle Space Junk!

Skyrora plans to refuel the rocket with its own alternative, the Ecosene. (photo credit: skyrora)

JAKARTA - An Edinburgh-based space company, Skyrora, has agreed to launch a rocket on a space mission over the next decade at Unst, Shetland's northernmost, from the former Shetland Space Center, now known as the SaxaVord Spaceport.

Later, the company will send an XL rocket as its first mission, 23 meters long, 56 tons to send a satellite into orbit starting in 2022. The multi-launch agreement with SaxaVord will run for the next decade, giving Skyrora the ability to build towards a target of 16 launches a year by 2020. 2030.

In fact, Skyrora plans to refuel the rocket with its own alternative, Ecosene, which is made from waste plastics such as polystyrene. The project is expected to create 140 jobs locally and another 70 across Shetland.

"We are proud to be at the forefront of space innovation in the UK, mobilizing our assets and helping to unlock exciting opportunities as part of the new space economy," said Skyrora Founder and chief executive, Volodymyr Levykin.

Skyrora last year conducted the UK's first full-vertical static fire rocket test in half a century. This is the first vertical test of this size in the UK since the Black Arrow program 50 years ago.

They have also completed tests of an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV), which will be used to help orbit dead satellites that are contributing to the growing amount of space debris around Earth, one of the biggest problems facing the global space industry.

OTVs can also perform maintenance and other tasks in space, which Skyrora hopes will be used by companies like SpaceX and OneWeb with their new satellite constellations.

"With our OTV and Ecosene, we are contributing to this new space goal, helping to tackle the problem of space debris and the impact of traditional fuels such as climate change," said Levykin.