The Skylark L vehicle “left the launch pad and experienced an anomaly, landing in the Norwegian Sea approximately 500m away from the launch site,” the firm said of the incident, which happened last Saturday (8 October).
No people or wildlife were harmed “in any way”, an announcement added. Recovery of the vehicle is ongoing, using multiple tracking systems, boats and aeroplanes.
Professional Engineeringasked Skyrora about the cause of the anomaly and potential impact on local wildlife at the crash site, near Langanes in the northeast of the country.
“The team is currently undertaking maintenance from the impact of a recent storm, packing and shipping equipment, and conducting recovery operations from the Norwegian Sea. A full investigation into the anomaly will be conducted once the team returns to normal operations,” a spokesperson toldProfessional Engineering.
“Our team has made every effort to collect as much debris as possible thus far through our three-tiered recovery system. There appears to [be] no surface debris within the ocean. As recovery operations continue, we are also taking every action possible to protect the local wildlife.”
The storm happened the evening after the attempted launch, the spokesperson added. The announcement said that the team had overcome “severe storms and freezing temperatures”.
Professional Engineeringalso asked if the rocket had disintegrated before colliding with the ocean, and if there had been any fuel leak from the crash, but responses from the recovery team were not available before publication.
The attempted launch was designed to test critical processes and components ahead of planned orbital launches from UK soil in 2023, and following test launches of the company’s Skylark Micro rocket in Iceland in 2019 and 2020.
“Since then, the company has been in talks with the Icelandic government to cement the safety and viability of launching Skylark L to ensure it could be completed without risk to people, wildlife, buildings, or the wider environment,” the announcement said.
The launch attempt used Skyrora’s mobile spaceport and was completed within seven days of arriving on site. A promotional video shows the rocket standing in a scaffold at the end of a lorry trailer on a small launchpad, prior to the attempted launch.
“The entire launch operation was developed and executed in record time,” the announcement said, with the launch complex packed, transported and deployed, and the vehicle and facilities shipped, in less than a month.
The port’s mobility helped minimise the footprint of the launch operations on surrounding landscape and environment, the company said.
Skylark Lis Skyrora’s 11m suborbital rocket, capable of reaching four-times the speed of sound and an altitude of over 125km. 70% of the technology tested in the Skylark L launch attempt will be applied to the systems of the Skyrora XL vehicle, the company said, providing a “key incremental learning opportunity to increase technological readiness ahead of vertical orbital launch next year”.
Lee Rosen, chief operations officer at Skyrora, said: “With over three decades in the business, I can assure you that despite the best design, build, and test preparations, anomalies still unfortunately do happen.
“Skyrora’s launch attempt of Skylark L has provided the team with valuable experience in operations procedures, logistics coordination, and execution of the rapid set-up and pack-down of our mobile launch complex, experience which will propel us forward monumentally in our mission to reach orbit.
“We are delighted to have had the support of the Icelandic government and the local Þórshöfn (Thorshofn) community for this launch attempt. It is a true sign of the strengthened relationship at the heart of European space efforts.”
Volodymyr Levykin, founder and CEO of Skyrora, said: “Skyrora is continuously propelling itself towards UK launch. Our launch attempt in Iceland is a testament to building connections between nations, as well as the hard work of the Skyrora team, who worked against all odds to make the attempt happen, including harsh weather conditions and extremely low temperatures around which our equipment has never been tested.
“Those on site are currently completing pack-down through those challenging conditions, and we will be investigating the nature and cause of the anomaly further once that process is finished.
“While this launch attempt did not go entirely as we expected, it has nevertheless been a valuable learning opportunity – and a huge victory for this new relationship between Iceland and the UK, as well as the European space sector more broadly.
“Based on what we have achieved here, we remain confident of achieving our objective of a full vertical orbital launch from UK soil in 2023.”
Bjorn Sigurð你Larusson, Langanesbyggd市长aid: “It was a privilege for Langanesbyggd community to be chosen as the place for the Skylark L launch and to host the Skyrora crew. We have been informed about the project every step of the way, and this cooperation between Skyrora and the community will act as a role model for future projects in our small community.
“We sincerely hope that this project will lead to further development of the space sector in Iceland.”
The launch attempt follows a successfulsecond stage static fire testof the orbital Skyrora XL rocket in August, the first test of its kind in the UK in over 50 years.
Matt Archer, director of commercial spaceflight at the UK Space Agency, said: “This suborbital launch attempt of a rocket developed in Scotland is another exciting step on Skyrora’s journey towards launching from the UK.
“Our strong international relationships with partners such as Iceland are vital for our own launch ambitions.”
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.