A rocket developer aiming to launch satellites into orbit from the UK has committed its long-term future to Edinburgh.
Skyrora has signed a five-year lease on premises on Princes Street, moving its team of 15 from its current base in St Colme Street.
The first launches are confirmed to take place as early as 2021, Skyrora is on track with research and tests that will allow it to take satellites of up to 350 kilograms to orbit.
The firm said it is is aligned with the UK Government and UK Space Agency's plans to operate from a new spaceport in Scotland and aims to provide dedicated UK-based launches.
Read more: Scots rocket firm aims for first private space launch
Its commitment to the city has been welcomed by the leader of the council.
Adam McVey, City of Edinburgh Council leader, above, said: "It is fantastic for the (Scottish) capital to have a business like Skyrora opt to commit its HQ here.
"As the only UK-headquartered launch provider competing to send rockets into orbit from a forthcoming UK spaceport, it is a truly exciting enterprise that will draw in lots of interest in the coming years.
"This is yet another great business providing opportunities for skilled graduates and apprentices in crucial science and tech subjects."
He added: "I wish them all the best for their office move and their continued success."
Read more: Four satellites a week to be launched from new Scottish spaceport
Skyrora will move to its new 2008 sq ft (186 sqm) office space at 108 Princes Street in the next few weeks.
Daniel Smith, of Skyrora, above, said: "Edinburgh is a positive tech-hub that is drawing some of the best STEM talent in the UK.
"From here we can easily reach a number of top universities, the thriving satellite tech firms in Glasgow as well as potential future launch sites in the north of the country – and of course the rest of the world from the airport.
"Our new premises will also allow us to continue growing a multi-talented team, which will yield some amazing opportunities and include some of the UK’s first true rocket-apprenticeships and graduate placements."
The move comes shortly after Skyrora initiated its first in a series of sub-orbital test launches north of the border.
Taking place at the Kildermorie Estate in Ross-shire, Skyrora successfully tested components with a nine-foot 2.5 metre rocket reaching an altitude of six kilometres.
The Skyrora XL vehicle is claimed to be on track to become the first entirely private rocket to launch into orbit from the UK, but draws parallels with the Government-backed British orbital rocket, Black Arrow, through the proven combination of kerosene and hydrogen peroxide as a fuel source, dating from around 1970.
The Edinburgh-based team is aiming to capture a share of the fast-growing small satellite launch market and has already 3D printed two separate prototype engines for testing at other UK locations this year.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here