Jobs boost as 'exciting' Scottish space company nets six-figure funding to turbocharge growth trajectory

From left: Rowland Fraser and Oren Smith-Carpenter, co-founders of Aurora Avionics that is based at The Higgs Centre for Innovation, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. Picture: Jason Cowan.

“This capital injection will accelerate the development of our technology.”

An Edinburgh-based space firm branded an “exciting young company" has secured six-figure funding from parties including Scottish Enterprise to help it boost its ranks and strengthen its foothold in Scotland’s space sector that is expected to be worth £4 billion by 2030.

Aurora Avionics specialises in producing the electrical systems necessary for flight, called avionics, driven by software that guides the rocket to its destination, and says it is on track to have a full prototype system ready for testing within a year.

It has now landed £320,000 from Gabriel Investment Syndicate as well as Scotland’s national economic development agency, and says the capital injection will enable it to catalyse its research and design, expanding its five-strong team of engineering experts. The support follows on from the 2023-founded firm securing funding and backing from the European Space Agency, which enabled its move to a research laboratory at Edinburgh’s Royal Observatory.

Chief executive Oren Smith-Carpenter founded Aurora with fellow engineer Rowland Fraser, who holds the role of chief technical officer. Smith-Carpenter said: "We are in the midst of the second space race, with rocket-developers on the cusp of launching from UK soil, with the number of launches across the globe growing exponentially.

“Each and every firm is trying to grapple with complex and costly avionics to allow them to launch and control their vehicles, and to ultimately place satellites into specific orbits. We want to revolutionise this hugely wasteful process – and enable launch vehicle-manufacturers to launch rockets promptly and inexpensively using our modular and reliable systems.”

Fraser added: “This capital injection will accelerate the development of our technology to unleash the full potential of a new generation of launch vehicles. This is a hugely exciting time for us, with growth and early customer engagement validating our engineering concepts and helping drive future development.” The duo formerly worked together at Forres-based spaceflight specialist Orbex that recently received another funding boost.

Gillian MacAulay, director of the Gabriel Investment Syndicate, welcomed it having led the investment deal into “exciting young company” Aurora Avionics, while Kerry Sharp of Scottish Enterprise said: “The technology being developed by Aurora Avionics addresses an important gap in the market for one of Scotland’s – and indeed the world’s – fastest-growing sectors.”