People in Space: Volodymyr Levykin, founder of Skyrora

18th Feb 2020
People in Space: Volodymyr Levykin, founder of Skyrora

Having emerged from a career spanning across numerous dot com businesses, Volodymyr Levykin, the founder and CEO of Skyrora, has grown his small startup launch company from scratch to what is likely to be one that will make history by becoming one of the first-ever private enterprises to launch rockets from the UK.

Volodymyr Levykin founded Skyrora in 2017 using private funds to launch and grow the company from a handful of individuals to 130 employees by 2020, with a head office in Edinburgh, Scotland as well as an extensive workshop and engine testing facilities around the country.

Mr Levykin was running an IT business in California when he decided to move back to his previous home in Edinburgh with his family, where he made the decision to start the Skyrora project.

Prior to his move to the USA, Volodymyr was the Managing Director of an AIM-listed e-commerce business based in Scotland, with over 600 employees worldwide, eventually selling his stake in the company and moving to Silicon Valley.

His return to Scotland and the subsequent starting up of Skyrora has been a bit of a whirlwind with the company’s rockets already in production and numerous live engine tests carried out using a ground-breaking fuel source produced from non-recyclable plastic – all within a couple of years.

In addition to the innovative fuel sources, the company are using 3D printing technology to build their rocket engines, further securing their green credentials.

In a recent interview when asked if he wanted to be the UK’s Elon Musk, Mr Levykin said: “Not really. Musk seems to have ambitions to travel to other planets. I’m more interested in us looking after the one we already inhabit”.

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