The UK-based services provider Orbex has entered insolvency proceedings after a planned takeover by European space logistics startup The Exploration Company fell through.
In December 2025, The Exploration Company entered negotiations to acquire Orbex. On 21 January, the companies announced they had signed a letter of intent, with The Exploration Company’s CEO Hélène Huby describing the businesses as “complementary.”
On 20 January, Orbex made 90 employees redundant as it shut down its rocket engine factory in Denmark, with the subsidiary that managed it filing for bankruptcy. On 11 February, the company announced that it had filed a notice of its intention to appoint administrators, formally beginning…