Sutherland Spaceport Limited will be formally closed once liquidators are appointed (Image: Orbex)
By Laura Pollock,
Published by The National, 1 June 2026
THE company behind the Sutherland Spaceport project is to be wound up as part of a proposed sale of assets linked to collapsed rocket firm Orbex.
The joint administrators of Orbex have said a deal involving spaceport-related assets is at an advanced stage – however – because the transaction is structured as an asset sale rather than a sale of the company itself, Sutherland Spaceport Limited (SSL) will be placed into liquidation.
The company will formally be closed once liquidators are appointed and the winding-up petition in the court process is completed.
Orbex announced in February this year that it had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators after failing to secure the funding it needed.
There had been concerns over how the UK Government withheld nearly £100 million of funding from the firm last month, leaving it lagging behind its European rivals.
The orbital launch services company and space rocket manufacturer based in Forres, Moray, said it would continue trading while all options for the future of the company are explored, including the sale of all or parts of its business or assets.
A spokesperson said: “This has been a complex process given Orbex’s highly specialised operations as a developer of commercial orbital launch vehicles.”
The company said it had been “on the cusp” of the first test launches of its microlauncher Prime later this year.
In December 2024 it announced it had paused plans to build a spaceport in Sutherland but would retain its lease to build and operate there.
It is unclear what this sale means for the future of the Sutherland Spaceport project.
Obex employed around 163 people in the UK, most of whom were based in Forres.
It is understood that the majority of staff were made redundant, with a handful retained to manage the next phase.
See: Original Article
