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Scottish rocket firm Orbex, which is aiming for first launches in 2022, announced construction of the launch platform at a test site near Kinloss, in Moray, Scotland, close to the company’s headquarters in Forres.
The firm commissioned Motive Offshore Group, which specialises in the design and manufacture of marine and lifting equipment, to fabricate and install the platform. It will be installed on land and will weigh more than 33 tonnes, an Orbex spokesman told Professional Engineering.
Known as Orbex LP1, the platform will include all the infrastructure and supporting services needed for a wide variety of integration tests. The launch campaign preparation will include testing of the main propellant tanks and multi-engine ‘hot fire’ testing under vertical firing conditions. It will also enable the launch operations team to test launch procedures including ‘rollout, strongback erection and fuelling procedures’.
The Prime rocket is a ‘micro-launcher’ designed to transport small satellites weighing about 150kg to low Earth orbit. Although actual launches of the Prime rocket will not take place at the Kinloss site, the platform will be fully capable of launches, allowing for full ‘dress rehearsals’ of launch procedures.
The LP1 is the first launchpad of its kind to be built in the UK since the High Down Rocket Test Site facility on the Isle of Wight, which was decommissioned in the early 1970s. High Down was the test site for the Black Arrow rocket, the first – and so far only – British-made rocket to successfully deliver a satellite into Earth's orbit, launching from Woomera in Australia on 28 October 1971.
The platform will enable Orbex to accelerate plans to launch Prime from its ‘home’ spaceport at Sutherland, in the north of Scotland. Described as the ‘world’s first carbon neutral spaceport’, Space Hub Sutherland is the only spaceport in the UK to have received full planning permission. Construction of the spaceport is due to begin in early 2022, ahead of the first expected launch of Orbex Prime later in the year.
“The ability for our engineers to test Prime on its own launchpad is a major advancement on the roadmap to launch, and we are happy to already be constructing this major piece of infrastructure with Motive Offshore, a partner which has a very strong track record in other relevant industries,” said Orbex CEO Chris Larmour.
James Gregg, COO at Motive Offshore Group, said: “Motive Offshore Group welcomes the opportunity to work with Orbex on this exciting project. Whilst the aerospace arena may be new territory for Motive, we are completely focused on the standards and performance required to deliver outstanding custom engineering, so very much look forward to transferring our skills and expertise on this project.”
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