Orbex Announces New Partnership with MSP to Supply Technology to Automate the Production of Components

Orbex has announced the appointment of a new supplier, MSP, as it progresses towards offering orbital launch services from the UK.

MSP will provide technology to automate the production of components being used by the orbital launch services provider as it progresses towards its first launch.

Based in North East England, MSP’s primary goal is to automate key areas of the CNC machining process to optimise CNC machine productivity, remove setup and alignment errors to prevent parts from being machined incorrectly and scrapped as a result. The savings in wasted material and energy this provides has resulted in MSP becoming a key player in multiple Net Zero strategies for leading manufacturers worldwide.

Orbex is currently constructing Sutherland Spaceport, from which it will vertically launch small satellites into Low Earth Orbit using their Orbex Prime microlauncher. In the lead-up to becoming fully operational as a launch services provider, Orbex is creating new partnerships with suppliers that are supporting them on their journey.

Tony Brown, Commercial Director at MSP, said: “We are pleased to join Orbex at such a crucial stage in its journey. We already work with a US-based space supplier, F1 teams and aerospace companies manufacturing complex carbon-fibre components, but this will be our first in the UK Space industry which holds extra importance. As Orbex’s campaign progresses, our products will support them to push the boundaries in terms of the accuracy and complexity of components they can produce”.

Phil Chambers, CEO at Orbex, added: “With a strong focus on quality and sustainability, suppliers are a critical part of our journey to launch and each agreement – such as this one with MSP takes us one step closer to delivering our first launch from Sutherland Spaceport. As the team begins to ramp-up we look to work with suppliers that can help us to optimize our processes and automate key elements of production.”

For further information, please contact Grayling:

Orbex@Grayling.com

Niamh Frizzell: : +44 (0) 7921 352 847

Sian Povey: +44 (0)7860 752 569