The move by Skyrora, based in the Scottish city Glasgow, comes the day after Orbex revealed it was in the process of appointing administrators after "fundraising, merger and acquisition opportunities all concluded unsuccessfully".

In a statement, Skyrora said it "intends to explore the purchase of select Orbex assets, including the Sutherland Spaceport", which could see it invest up to pound10 million ($13.6 million).

However, the firm noted it was "a preliminary expression of interest only".

In its Wednesday announcement, Orbex, based near Inverness in Scotland, said it will continue trading while "all options for the future of the company are explored, including potential sale of all or parts of its business or assets".

Founded in 2016, and employing 163 people, it had been planning the first test launches of its micro-launcher, Prime, later this year.

"Orbex already has commercial launch commitments from several satellite customers for Prime, which is one of the most advanced, low-carbon microlaunchers in the world," it noted.

The company began construction of its Sutherland Spaceport, on Scotland's north coast, in 2023 but paused it at the end of 2024 and decided to shift its launch operations to another Scottish site, SaxaVord, in the Shetland Islands.

Member states of the European Space Agency, which the UK remains a part of despite Brexit, pledged more than 900 million euros at the end of 2025 for the European Launcher Challenge initiative.

It is bidding to expand European launch service supply, to ensure greater robustness in Europe's space access, with five operators selected so far that had included Orbex.

Germany's Isar and Rocket Factory Augsburg, France's MaiaSpace, and Spain's PLD Space were the others chosen.