Hundreds of Jobs to Be Created by Orbex in Forres With the First Launches At Sutherland Spaceport

Orbex, one of the UK manufacturers of space rockets, is set to create over 300 jobs in Forres in five years as the Sutherland Spaceport is expected to start launches soon.

Orbex creates new jobs

According to a report commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce, Orbex is looking to bring in new business to the Highlands of Scotland. The company, which currently employs 15 people at the location, is going to hire much more staff given their plans to launch satellites from Sutherland Spaceport next year.

Economic opportunities

The Chief Executive officer at Orbex, Chris Larmour, thinks that their new space hub will be a job maker, as skilled labour will be needed for new commercial activities in the North Highlands. He thinks that the number of opportunities will grow exponentially over time and is looking forward to creating new prospects for people living in this area.

Sutherland Spaceport needs new rockets to conduct launches of small satellites into lower orbit. Orbex is keen to manufacture these aircraft. The company has poured a lot of resources into developing low-carbon, advanced, high-performance launch vehicles.

New plans for Sutherland Spaceport

As plans for a new spaceport are underway, this is set to increase UK economic prosperity by approximately £99 million. Over 19 million of this is planned to come from Scotland alone. Over 40 full-time jobs will be needed, and there are plans to carry out a dozen launches a year for the time being. However, as more jobs come from tourism and construction, the number of launches will grow exponentially. The new launches are expected to bring in over 4,000 new visitors a year. These are indeed exciting times for Orbex.