UK rocket startup Skyrora badly impacted by the Ukraine War
The smallsat rocket startup Skyrora appears to be badly impacted by the Ukraine War, since half its employees work in the Ukraine and the founder of this United Kingdom company is Volodymyr Levykin, a Ukrainian entrepreneur.
Skyrora, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, has about 80 employees in Dnipro, working on research and development of new manufacturing methods and materials, Levykin said.
“From day one, the priority for everyone in Ukraine was the family, then the country and then the company,” said Levykin, who comes from a small town near Dnipro. “And that’s what I told our team. Some of our people managed to move somewhere away from Dnipro, but the majority are staying there and showing significant resilience during this challenging time.”
It more and more appears that one of the biggest fallouts from the Ukraine War will be the destruction of that country’s aerospace industry. From the article at the link:
The Ukrainian space community will watch the developments in Dnipro anxiously. The rocket research and manufacturing facilities, worth billions of dollars, could not only fall into Russian hands but also face irreparable destruction, Ukraine’s former space chief Volodymyr Usov told Space.com in an earlier interview. Due to the amount of toxic rocket fuels and other chemicals, a rocket strike at Yuzhmash and Yuzhnoye could also cause a major environmental disaster, Usov said.
Russia certainly wants to recapture these space assets without damaging them, but that might not be possible. And even if this happens, any partnerships between western and Ukrainian aerospace companies — such as Skyrora’s — will vanish, and will likely not be renewed after the war ends. No commercial company is going to risk any investment with Russia for many years.
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The smallsat rocket startup Skyrora appears to be badly impacted by the Ukraine War, since half its employees work in the Ukraine and the founder of this United Kingdom company is Volodymyr Levykin, a Ukrainian entrepreneur.
Skyrora, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, has about 80 employees in Dnipro, working on research and development of new manufacturing methods and materials, Levykin said.
“From day one, the priority for everyone in Ukraine was the family, then the country and then the company,” said Levykin, who comes from a small town near Dnipro. “And that’s what I told our team. Some of our people managed to move somewhere away from Dnipro, but the majority are staying there and showing significant resilience during this challenging time.”
It more and more appears that one of the biggest fallouts from the Ukraine War will be the destruction of that country’s aerospace industry. From the article at the link:
The Ukrainian space community will watch the developments in Dnipro anxiously. The rocket research and manufacturing facilities, worth billions of dollars, could not only fall into Russian hands but also face irreparable destruction, Ukraine’s former space chief Volodymyr Usov told Space.com in an earlier interview. Due to the amount of toxic rocket fuels and other chemicals, a rocket strike at Yuzhmash and Yuzhnoye could also cause a major environmental disaster, Usov said.
Russia certainly wants to recapture these space assets without damaging them, but that might not be possible. And even if this happens, any partnerships between western and Ukrainian aerospace companies — such as Skyrora’s — will vanish, and will likely not be renewed after the war ends. No commercial company is going to risk any investment with Russia for many years.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
No offence intended, but saying “It more and more appears that one of the biggest fallouts from the Ukraine War will be the destruction of that country’s aerospace industry” is both insensitive, and wrong.
The biggest fallout from the Ukraine war is the death and displacement of huge numbers of innocent civilians.
Other “biggest fallouts” include the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, and indeed normal people’s homes.
Another “biggest fallout” is the fact that pretty much everyone in non-NATO countries are frightened.
I have the “privilege ” of a UK passport, as do my kids.. if things get rough, I can return to my homeland with them. The UK is a NATO member, and if Russia attacks a NATO state, all bets are off.
I have war just down my street…. While a little sad about the impacts on the space situation, there are so very many more impacts to the current situation that are more important.
I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s under the threat of a nuclear holocaust. I thought that stupidity was over.
My teenage children are now worried, as is the nation I live in, of the threat of invasion and indeed a nuclear war.
Any disruption to anything space related is very small beer indeed.
“I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s under the threat of a nuclear holocaust. I thought that stupidity was over.
My teenage children are now worried, as is the nation I live in, of the threat of invasion and indeed a nuclear war.”
I too grew up in that era. I think it is important the people understand that if we return to such a situation, there is one man to blame, and that is Poo-tin.
@sippin_bourbon…. I mostly agree…. I actually had quite a bit of respect for Putin… And every Russian I have ever had a conversation with admired him…( I actually made a point to ask… )
I get that he doesn’t want NATO on his border, the US felt the same way regarding the USSR during the Cuba crisis, Paranoid with nukes is not a good combo.
But something has gone horribly wrong here in Europe, a statement that Ukraine would not join NATO would end this war…. Putin is certainly out of control, and he’s dangerous. Agreeing to the whole ” no NATO on my borders ” would not be appeasement, but sensible.
The whole situation is a nest of snakes… But as I said, the main focus should be on the casualties of the war… The space stuff can wait.
NATO or EU membership is unacceptable to him. And it really does not matter if they had said “okay” to the demand that they be excluded. Georgia asked years ago. It never happened. The NATO argument is a red herring.
The fact is that the Ukraine gov wanted it, is the real problem. Same with EU membership. Ukraine chose. They want to embrace Western ideals, freedoms and property. That would move the. Out of Russia’s sphere of influence. He feels he must pull them back, to keep Western influence at arms reach. He is incapable of living with his neighbors.
@sippin_bourbon ( excellent forum name! I’m sippin Irish whiskey… It’s a Saturday evening, and my kids are with their mother.. apart from the threat of Armageddon… All is good in the world…)
You have to look deep and long into this war to make any definitive statements, the annexing of Crimea was actually welcomed by the locals…. The democratically elected government of Ukraine was driven out by a western backed popular uprising.
There are not just good players in Ukraine, there are genuinely Nazi factions operating in the outskirts… Most of the population of the Provence’s that Russia is “liberating” approve ..
I try and keep myself updated on events in this conflict, if it escalates it will involve me directly….
However, I believe the single most important factor in this whole mess is that Putin will not have a NATO member with a huge border against Russia. And to be honest, who can blame him? No country in the world wants their “enemy” on their border…
If China signed a deal with Canada, what would the USs response be?
And then we get into the supply of gas and oil to Europe… We depend upon Russian supplies for a huge chunk of our energy needs… If that pipeline turns off… We will freeze…
I am most worried that Putin has lost the plot.. everything can be worked out on paper.. but if we are now dealing with a genuine “madman” the world is in trouble.
Lee S,
I grew up in the 50’s & 60’s with weekly “Duck & Cover” exercises in grade school. WTF was hiding under our desks feet away from very large panes of glass going to do for us. Eventually, we were moved into the central hallway to practice, thinking there would be no cinder block shrapnel to deal with.
The Cuban missile ‘crisis’ truly was one. I know that I thought I was going to die.
My father’s side of the family comes from a small region in the southernmost part of Ukraine, before it was Ukraine. To this day we still don’t know if we’re Romanian, Moldovan, Austro-Hungarian, Russian, or Turk. The grandparents spoke German.
People in that region have been abused by invading tyrants for more centuries than I actually know of. Putin is just the latest variation of a very old tradition.
@GaryMike, there is no country in Europe that hasn’t been invaded multiple times over the centuries. We are all mungrals… And that applies to the anyone in the US that is not indigenous.
Ah, quite correct.
Muttmerica.
Arf, she said. (Zappa reference.)
Although I went to grade school in the 70s, duck and cover and earthquake drills was still a thing. Including the location of the fallout shelter in the school basement with a supply of blankets, food, water, iodine pills.
I asked my grandson what they’re taught to do if there’s a nuclear war… He just shrugged and said “I’ll put my mask on”.