Orbex appoints interim chief executive following shock departure of Chris Larmour ahead of start on Spaceport Sutherland
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The spaceflight firm overseeing the development of Spaceport Sutherland has announced it has appointed an interim chief executive.
Orbex, which is developing a new Prime rocket to carry satellites into space from Spaceport Sutherland, has said tech veteran Martin Coates is taking on the leading role.
The move follows the shock departure in April of the firm’s founding chief executive Chris Larmour - just weeks before a start was set to be made on the construction of the spaceport, located at A'Mhoine, near Tongue.
Orbex said at the time that it was “transitioning the company management team to prepare for the next stage of growth”, and that Mr Larmour was stepping back to “allow a focus on new goals”.
In the weeks since Mr Larmour’s departure, the position has been held temporarily by Kristian von Bengtson who is the firm’s chief development officer.
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But now Orbex has appointed Martin Coates, who has been involved with the firm since its foundation and who served on the company’s board in its start-up phase between 2015 and 20-16.
A long-time Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Mr Coates has more than 30 years’ experience leading various companies as a chief executive or chairman.
One of his strengths is said to be his ability to “devise and execute strategic plans while building world-class teams”.
Orbex Chairman Bart Markus said: “By bringing Martin on board, we're ensuring that Kristian can remain dedicated to his already demanding role.
“We are excited about having secured Martin’s involvement, not in the least as he already knows and understands Orbex.
“Additionally, Martin is an experienced tech leader, and his long-standing management experience in technology companies will be a great help for the team to deliver a rocket.”
Mr Coates said: “I was honoured when Bart and Kristian asked me to step in. I already feel like I'm firmly entrenched in Orbex as I was there in the very early days as the concept became a reality.
"We've got a critical few months ahead of us and a lot of hard work. I already know the quality of the team and I can't wait to get started.”
Orbex has its headquarters, production and testing facilities in Forres as well as design and testing facilities in Denmark.
The firm is building Prime, a 19-metre long, two-stage rocket designed to transport small satellites weighing up to 180 kg into Low Earth Orbit.
Prime is powered by a renewable bio-fuel, Futuria Liquid Gas, which allows the rocket to reduce carbon emissions significantly compared to other similarly sized rockets being developed elsewhere around the world.
A study by the University of Exeter showed that a single launch of the Orbex Prime rocket will produce 96 per cent lower carbon emissions than comparable space launch systems using fossil fuels.
Spaceport Sutherland, formerly known as Space Hub Sutherland, will be the first vertical launch spaceport to be built on the UK mainland and will become Orbex’s home spaceport, where the company will launch up to 12 rockets a year for the deployment of satellites into Earth's orbit.
