Orbex
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
as Moonspike Ltd
 | |
| Company type | Commercial launch services |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2015 as Moonspike Ltd |
| Founder | Chris Larmour, Kristian von Bengtson |
| Defunct | February 18, 2026 |
| 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., or Orbex, was a United Kingdom-based[4] aerospace company that was developing commercial orbital launch vehicles, namely a small rocket called Prime and a medium-lift rocket called Proxima.[5] Orbex was headquartered in Forres, Moray, in Scotland and had subsidiaries in Denmark and Germany. Orbex planned to build its future launch complex, Sutherland spaceport, on the A' Mhòine peninsula in the county of Sutherland, northern Scotland, if and when deemed necessary.[6][7] After failed takeover talks with The Exploration Company, Orbex began insolvency proceedings in February 2026.[8][9] The company ceased operations on 18 February 2026.[10]
Orbex initially intended to share the Sutherland spaceport in northern Scotland with Lockheed Martin, who at the time did not have a launch vehicle, but their strategic shareholding in Rocket Lab led to speculation that they would launch with the Rocket Lab Electron rocket, but since the two vehicles (Electron and Prime) use different propellants, the two companies would have separate launch 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 the Shetland Isles.[1][11][12] Orbex also planned to launch from a future spaceport in the Portuguese Azores.[13][14]