Why Orbex and Sutherland Spaceport Ltd ran into liquidation

4th June 2026

The collapse of Orbex in February 2026 and the fate of its subsidiary Sutherland Spaceport Ltd (SSL) was not caused by a single event. It was a combination of funding failure, rising costs, and strategic setbacks that slowly removed its ability to continue operating.

Funding failure was the final trigger

The immediate cause of collapse was a failed Series D funding round, which meant Orbex could not raise the money needed to keep developing its rockets or continue operating at scale. Efforts to secure a buyer also failed, including reported talks with European space firms. Without fresh investment, the company ran out of runway and entered administration in February 2026.

High cash burn and mounting losses

Orbex was burning through around £2 million per month, while cumulative losses reached tens of millions of pounds. Despite significant public and private investment (over £100 million across its lifetime), revenues never caught up with development costs.

In short: it was a classic “deep tech” problem — expensive technology, long timelines, and no commercial launch revenue yet.

The Sutherland Spaceport setback

A major strategic blow came when Orbex effectively paused and later mothballed construction of the Sutherland Spaceport, shifting focus instead to launching from the SaxaVord site in Shetland.

This meant SSL — the company set up to develop and operate Sutherland — lost its core purpose: there was no active launch programme driving revenue or investment into the site.

In effect, the spaceport became a stranded asset tied to a company already under financial strain.

No major construction work has taken place.

Delays, technical risk and missed timelines

Orbex had aimed to become one of Europe’s first small satellite launch providers, but repeatedly missed development milestones for its Prime rocket.

Delays in achieving orbit are critical in the space industry — because without a successful launch record, it is extremely difficult to secure commercial customers or long-term contracts.

Government and investor caution

Although Orbex received significant public support, including UK and Scottish investment, confidence weakened as costs rose and timelines slipped.

At the same time, investors became more cautious about funding “micro-launcher” companies in Europe after several high-profile failures in the sector. This made raising late-stage funding much harder.

Structural issue: too many spaceports, not enough rockets

The UK space sector has been trying to build multiple launch sites (Sutherland, SaxaVord, Cornwall), but only a small number of viable launch vehicles exist.

Orbex effectively ended up trying to:

build rockets
build a spaceport system
scale a commercial launch business

…all at the same time, with limited cash.

That combination proved unsustainable.

What this means for Sutherland Spaceport Ltd

SSL’s position was tied directly to Orbex’s survival. Once Orbex collapsed:

the rocket programme stopped
construction was already paused
no launches were scheduled from Sutherland
the company lost its commercial purpose

However, the spaceport itself has not disappeared — it is now effectively an asset that could be sold or taken over, with other firms (such as Skyrora) already expressing interest in acquiring parts of the infrastructure.