Cumbernauld chosen for traliblazing rocket manufacturing facility that's largest in the UK!

British rocket company Skyrora chose Cumbernauld to open its new manufacturing and production facility which is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom. This follows the recent opening of an engine test facility in Midlothian and will enable the company to concentrate on its launch development practices in custom-built domestic facilities with support too from rocket scientists in Ukraine.

Nor will there be any shortage of room to do so.

For the Skyrora Vehicle Assembly Building in Cumbernauld boasts 55,000 square feet of factory floor and office space, along with a 67,000 square feet yard large enough to contain the entire Skylark L launch complex and future Skyrora XL launch facilities

Altogether, the facility roughly equates to the size of two standard football pitches. It means too that work can take place here that in the past had to be outsourced to locations outwith the UK, giving the business a competitive edge.

Crucially, the manufacturing and production site will generate new employment opportunities by accommodating up to 100 high-skilled technical and business roles.

Skyrora's Head of Engineering, Dr Jack James Marlow, said: “This purpose-built manufacturing and assembly site, combined with the Midlothian testing facility, allows Skyrora to take direct charge of the development cycle in-house. As a business, we now have a full set of domestic facilities to allow for close control of the quality and rapid development and testing.

“The site will also allow us to further optimise manufacturing processes developed by our colleagues in Ukraine and scale-up launch vehicle production in the long term, enabling further expansion and growth in the future."

Skyrora’s readiness to enter mass production comes at a pivotal time in the UK space race, as the company endeavours to become the first British company to launch a rocket from UK soil.