Orbex Denmark Subsidiary Files for Bankruptcy Amid Facility Closure

Orbex’s Danish subsidiary, Orbital Express Launch ApS, is set to file for bankruptcy, with its facilities officially closing on 20 January and approximately 90 employees losing their jobs. UK-based Orbital Express Launch (Orbex) established its business in Denmark in October 2016. According to the company, its Copenhagen-based business carried out work in propulsion, testing, software, avionics, and business services. In its year-end 2024 financial statements, its most recent filings, Orbital Express Launch ApS reported losses of DKK 70.673.917 (€9.46 million), while its balance sheet as of 31 December 2024 showed negative equity of DKK 55.383.356 (€7.4 million). The company’s auditors noted that it was fully reliant on funding from its parent company, Orbital Express Launch Ltd., and warned that its ability to continue operating was subject to material uncertainty regarding its ability to secure future financing. On 20 January, more than 15 Orbital Express Launch ApS employees announced at around the same time on LinkedIn that they were looking for work. Since then, European Spaceflight has received confirmation from three independent sources, who wished to remain anonymous, that the subsidiary has dismissed its entire workforce, with the company expected to officially file for bankruptcy on 22 January. While its Danish business is filing for bankruptcy, the company announced on 21 January that it had entered into talks to sell the rest of its operations to European space logistics startup The Exploration Company. The announcement stated that the companies have signed a Letter of Intent, and negotiations have begun. It added that all details about the potential purchase are confidential at this stage. According to one of the sources who spoke to European Spaceflight, employees were told that talks with The Exploration Company began in December 2025. The source said that the company had also approached the UK government for support, but those efforts ultimately failed. An attempt was also made to sell the company to a private consortium, which was unable to raise sufficient capital. As per Companies House, the UK’s company registry, Orbex is currently overdue in filing its 2024 financial accounts, which were due on 31 December 2025. As a result, it is difficult to ascertain the current financial position of the company’s main UK entity. In January 2025, following the announcement that the UK government had invested £20 million in the company, Orbex said its Series D funding totalled £23 million. However, in evidence submitted to the Scottish Affairs Committee in March, the company said it would need to raise a further £120 million in private capital to support its four-year plan, underlining the scale of its remaining funding requirement. While ESA Member States committed €34.9 million to the company, including €8 million from Denmark, during the agency’s Ministerial Council meeting in November 2025 as part of its European Launcher Challenge, the funding is intended to co-finance launch services rather than directly support rocket development activities.