A SCOTTISH-based rocket company is planning to launch a taxi service in space which could create up to 170 jobs across Scotland.

Skyrora is looking ahead to a launch date in 2023 after successfully completing a series of 100 tests on its LEO engine.

These were designed to replicate conditions in space and were conducted at its engine test complex in Rosyth, Fife.

The results of the static engine firing tests – including a vacuum chamber trial – all met the company’s criteria, meaning this sub-system of the three-stage orbital launcher, Skyrora XL, is ready for launch.

Skyrora described the LEO engine as “unique” – it can re-ignite numerous times in orbit to deliver payloads to different altitudes and phases, which is a requirement of the mission and its role as a “taxi”’ service to satellite customers.

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The Edinburgh-based firm said it had already signed almost two dozen letters of intent with interested customers and planned to have a launch service agreement in place within the next six months – delivering between 150 to 170 job opportunities across Scotland.

It said the main purpose of the test programme was to verify LEO’s lifetime cycle as per European Space Agency (ESA) standards, testing vacuum configuration and thrust vector control (TVC).

This meant the engine was fired for three times longer than a normal mission would require, while also conducting a number of re-ignitions.

Skyrora has a sharp focus on the environmental impact of their launch vehicles and plans to use their kerosene equivalent, derived from unrecyclable plastic waste, as their rocket propellant.

In January, the fuel known as Ecosene was successfully tested on Skyrora’s LEO engine. The company said it was determined to become an eco-friendly launch provider and would continue to concentrate its efforts on helping to protect the planet.

Head of engineering, Dr Jack-James Marlow, said: “These tests were a fundamental step for our verification programme for the third stage LEO engine, which make us a stage closer to fully developing our polar orbital vehicle, Skyrora XL.

“We designed and manufactured a vacuum tube to allow us to lower ambient pressure conditions to approximately 10% of sea level.

“This is a great technological achievement for Skyrora.”