Britain joins the microlaunch space race with a new rocket and spaceport

Orbex/Anders Bøggild

The United Kingdom has entered the race to develop low-cost, high-volume rockets for small satellites. Orbex, a British-based company with subsidiaries and production facilities in Denmark and Germany, announced Monday that it has raised $40 million from public and private sources to develop what it is calling the "Prime" launch vehicle.

The company intends to launch Prime from a new spaceport—also just announced—that will be located in Northern Scotland. This facility would be the first commercial vertical launch site in the United Kingdom and represents a significant investment in rocket infrastructure by the British government after decades of dormancy.