Launch services provider Orbex has secured an international patent for its small rocket technology in a move which the company says further underlines Scotland's role as a key player in space innovation and research.
The newly-patented technology has been designed to make small rockets more efficient and cost-effective. The design reduces weight compared to similarly-sized rockets by approximately 30% while offering greater power, higher performance, and better economy.
“When you look at the outside of an Orbex rocket, it looks like any other contemporary carbon fibre rocket," chief technology officer Jonas Bjarnø said. "But when you look on the inside you understand that we have created something that is completely unique.
“We set out to deliver a uniquely innovative, efficient and sustainable spaceflight solution and that is exactly what we are now building. This patent is recognition of Orbex’s innovation, it gives us a significant competitive advantage in the global market and demonstrates our ability to challenge the status quo and lead the way towards a more sustainable space industry.”
Orbex employs more than 150 people across its design facilities in Denmark and its main production and testing centre in Moray where it makes its Orbex Prime micro-launchers. It plans to launch up to 12 of these per year from Sutherland, where it is in the process of building a spaceport.
Very small rockets copy the traditional "stacked" tank architecture of larger rockets, making them less efficient and cost-effective than their larger counterparts because they carry much less fuel per unit of dry mass.
READ MORE: Orbex recruits industry heavyweights ahead of launch
The Orbex team has addressed this central inefficiency by nesting the fuel tank within an outer tank of liquid oxygen. This arrangement has unique synergies with Orbex’s choice of bio-propane as a rocket fuel because bio-propane does not freeze solid when chilled to the same temperature as liquid oxygen.
The coaxial tank structure thus removes surplus components and sub-systems such as insulation, extra bulkheads, external pipework, heavy tank walls and thermal conditioning equipment.
The new patent protects the technology across more than a dozen countries.
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