Green Spotlight On

Skyrora has joined our Bright Green Business Network. Let's hear about their motivation to joining and how they play their part in helping the environment.

Tell us more about your business?
Skyrora designs, manufactures, and deploys rockets to clear the way for small satellite manufacturers looking to access space. Skyrora aims to support government plans for space sector growth and improved sustainability within the space industry by producing innovative technologies that either prevent harm to the environment or greatly reduce the harm caused to the environment by methods and technologies utilised within the space industry.

What has been your proudest moment so far?
One of Skyrora’s proudest moments so far has been our completion of the UK’s first ground rocket test in 50 years. Our team successfully build a mobile launch complex and completed a full static fire test with our Skylark L rocket on it in just five days. This achievement signified both the first vertical static fire test in the UK since the Black Arrow Programme in the 1970s, as well as a monumental step forward in Skyrora’s mission to launch the first British rocket into orbit from British soil.

How does your company play its part in helping the environment?
Skyrora is investing into innovative methods that will enable greater sustainability within the space sector to contribute to the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals. This includes R&D on various technical projects such as Ecosene, an RP-1 fuel derived from unrecyclable plastic waste, our Space Tug, an orbital transfer vehicle which can deorbit defunct satellites, and our mobile launch complex. Skyrora recognize our duty to champion space traffic management and sustainability through the development of these green technologies.

Who is your business idol?
One of Skyrora's business idols is black American mathematician, Katherine Johnson. Her calculations of orbital mechanics were central to several of NASA's crewed missions, such as the orbital Friendship 7 mission of John Glenn in 1962. Johnson has paved the way for breaking down barriers in the space sector, demonstrating that, with the right attitude and skillset, anything is possible. 

What environmental issues do you find most frustrating?
Skyrora acknowledges the urgent need to mitigate several environmental issues on Earth, including single use plastic and CO2 emissions, as well as sustainability issues in space such as space junk. This is why our mission and innovative technologies revolve around addressing and mitigating the impacts of these prevalent environmental issues.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the environmental sector?
The biggest challenge facing the environmental sector is enacting collaboration between government and industry sectors, such as the space sector, to achieve the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals. Satellites are central to these goals, therefore Net Zero must be reached both on Earth and in Space to preserve both domains for future generations. To address this need, Skyrora has created The Prospero Principles, a framework identifying six key pillars of action that must be taken in the Space Sector to contribute to Net Zero on Earth.

Read more about Skyrora on their website.

Interested in joining our network to meet like-minded businesses like Skyrora? Contact us at Bright@thebusinesspartnership.org.uk