Skyrora successfully completes a static hot-fire test of scaled-down orbital vehicle systems

UK launch services company Skyrora has successfully completed a 45-second static hot-fire test of a scaled-down version of its orbital launch vehicle, Skyrora XL. Taking place at Machrihanish on the west coast of Scotland, the test marks another important step in the development of the company’s orbital launch vehicle.

The test vehicle was built to validate subsystems and components similar to those that will be used in Skyrora XL. The test gathered data on the vehicle’s pressurisation system and critical engine characteristics, including propellant flow rate and chamber pressure.

Initial data indicates that the subsystems operated successfully throughout the test. Skyrora’s engineering team is now collating and analysing the results before conducting a second test.

Skyrora’s approach is to test early, test repeatedly and test systems together before scaling them up. By testing these systems together at a smaller scale, Skyrora can identify and address engineering challenges earlier in the development programme. This reduces technical risk and provides further evidence of component and subsystem performance before scaling up through an extensive programme of progressively larger and more demanding trials and integration into the Skyrora XL vehicle. 

Skyrora COO, Dr Jack James Marlow, commented: “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.”