UK-based spaceflight company, Orbex, is planning to launch its biggest internship programme to date. With recruitment kicking off in April 2023, the programme aims to welcome up to a dozen new interns, making it the largest cohort of new interns to date.

The latest intake of interns comes as Orbex prepares for the first launch of its Prime rocket, which will be the first ever vertical rocket launch from the UK mainland, creating a once in a lifetime opportunity for potential candidates.

Teams offering placements during the 2023/24 programme include Assembly Integration and Test (AIT), avionics, propulsion mechanisms, systems engineering, Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC), software, structures and marketing & administration. Candidates will get to work alongside experienced members of the team and contribute to projects during their placement.

Internship programme

Orbex has six recruits in its current internship programme, five based in the company’s headquarters in Forres in the Scottish Highlands, and one based in its design and production facility in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Some of the current interns will have the option to take up a permanent position with Orbex at the end of their internship, with the remainder going back to university or to other placements depending on where they are in their educational journey.

“For anyone that is fascinated with space and rockets, this really is an opportunity of a lifetime,” said current intern Christopher Stewart. “For the new interns, joining a spaceflight company as it gears up for the first ever vertical rocket launch from the UK mainland will be an incredible experience. There will be no shortage of learning opportunities, and the interns will be playing their own small part in making history.”

Orbex Prime became the first full orbital microlauncher rocket to be unveiled in Europe in May 2022. Prime is a 19-metre-long rocket designed to launch small satellites into polar and sun-synchronous orbits. Orbex has already announced several commercial launch contracts with satellite manufacturers, who will see their satellites launched into orbit directly from Scotland.

The company also received one of the largest rounds of VC funding in the global space sector in Q4 2022, securing £40.4 million in its Series C funding round from new and existing investors.
Subscribe to the FINN weekly newsletter