A new 3D-printed rocket engine created by Skyrora is undergoing testing in Scotland ahead of plans for launching it into space.
The privately-owned rocket manufacturer created the engine using its Skyprint 2 machine, one of Europe’s largest 3D printers.
Skyrora’s engine will be tested every week over the summer at the UK’s largest rocket testing facility, a former quarry in Midlothian.
Rockets are required to run for 250 seconds, the same amount of time it would take for a flight to reach orbit.
Volodymyr Levykin, chief executive at Skyrora noted the importance of localising the “launch value chain”.
He said: “The new engine technology developed by Skyrora's engineers and the commitment to a sustainable design is a testament to the innovation taking place in the UK space sector.”
3D printing engines have grown in popularity over the last few years as it costs less than traditional methods and halves the production time.
In March, US firm Launcher sent a 3D-printed rocket into the atmosphere, but it was unable to make it into orbit, crashing after 3 minutes.
A month later the group said it would be retiring the rocket to focus on other models.
At the start of 2023, Virgin Orbit became the first company to ever launch an orbital mission in the UK.
However, after the launch failed the company went bust and sold many of its assets to US rivals.