In August 2025, Glasgow-based Skyrora became the first British manufacturer to receive a license to conduct vertical launches from the United Kingdom. This license
will enable the company to launch its suborbital Skylark L rocket from SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland, which had previously received the necessary approvals from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
This represents an important milestone for the UK, which has finally achieved sovereign launch capability. At the same time, it is a story of new partnerships for the Ukrainian aerospace sector, made possible thanks to the investment of Max Polyakov, a Ukrainian entrepreneur and philanthropist. In 2017, Polyakov’s funding and the technologies he brought helped transform Firefly Space Systems, a near-bankrupt startup, into the successful Firefly Aerospace, which develops rockets for NASA to carry payloads to the moon. In the summer of 2025, Firefly Aerospace also conducted its first initial public offering (IPO) on the high-tech stock exchange NASDAQ.
Polyakov’s investment in Skyrora will enable the company to realize its ambitious plans and become the leading provider of launch services in the UK.
SaxaVord on the Scottish Shetland Islands, the spaceport from which Skyrora plans to launch
Max Polyakov: investor and innovator in the space sector
Max Polyakov was born in the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine and is known as an entrepreneur in the fields of space and IT technologies. In 2001 he founded his first company, IT-Ukraine, and three years later became a co-founder of the IDE group of companies. He is currently the founder of the investment fund Noosphere Ventures, the founder and co-owner of the space technology companies EOS Data Analytics and SETS, among others, and the co-founder of the non-profit organization Association Noosphere.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Polyakov has also been actively involved in humanitarian initiatives and defense projects. A staunch supporter of the noosphere theory of the Ukrainian scholar Volodymyr Vernadsky, Polyakov is convinced that space and space technologies must serve the exploration of our planet and ensure the well-being of humanity and the Earth.
Firefly Aerospace: From near-bankruptcy to IPO
Polyakov founded Firefly Aerospace in 2017 after acquiring the assets, patents and intellectual property of Firefly Space Systems. The following year, the newly founded company opened a research and development center in the city of Dnipro. Five months later, it became one of NASA’s chosen contractors to support the American lunar program. Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander was the first spacecraft built by a private company in history to successfully land on the Moon.
The silhouette of Blue Ghost, the lunar lander developed by Firefly Aerospace for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program
2025 was an eventful year for Firefly Aerospace. In addition to the successful landing of Blue Ghost, the company received approval to launch its Alpha rockets from the Esrange spaceport in Sweden and began work on launch capability from a spaceport on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. In August, Firefly Aerospace made headlines by becoming a publicly traded company and debuting on the high-tech NASDAQ stock exchange. This is not typical in the aerospace sector, but the recent success of Karman, AIRO Group and Voyager showed that the decision was sound: shortly after their IPOs, Karman’s shares rose 10% and Voyager’s rose 100%.
Firefly Aerospace shares, trading under the ticker symbol FLY, were originally priced at $45. However, shares rose 30% to $60.35 on the first day of trading. This raised Firefly $868 million, the largest space technology IPO since the start of the year.
The IPO was an important part of Firefly Aerospace’s long-term strategy. The company now has extensive experience in the development, launch and landing of spacecraft. All of this is happening against a backdrop of global go-to-market dynamics where demand from both the government and private sectors significantly exceeds supply. By expanding its production capacity, Firefly Aerospace could change this balance and accelerate the development and testing of new rockets.
Invest in Skyrora
Today Max Polyakov is the majority shareholder in the Scottish space rocket company Skyrora. This company plays a key role in the development of the UK aerospace sector and aims to become the first private operator to launch a rocket from UK soil.
Skyrora is also unique due to its innovative technologies. The company uses advanced 3D printing methods to produce key rocket engine components in the UK using its in-house Skyprint 2 printer, significantly reducing costs and speeding up production. In addition, Skyrora has developed Ecosene, a rocket fuel made from recycled plastic, making it a greener option for space launches.
This latest investment will help the company move forward with confidence and take on even bolder projects. While commercial launches require significant resources, the new capital injection will help Skyrora grow and achieve its ambitions. For years, the high research, design and testing costs of commercial launches slowed the growth of the space economy. Today, financial flows into key areas of the space sector are accelerating as investors pour money into space technologies that are transforming entire industries, knowing that such projects take time and may not deliver quick returns.
Max Polyakov’s investment approach is to ensure the stable operation of a company and create conditions for teams to focus on achieving long-term commercial goals. His goal is to get companies to a point where they can attract large investments with long-term return horizons. With Polyakov’s investment, Skyrora plans to continue scaling and providing commercial launch services, adding value primarily to the UK.
With his successful track record in revitalizing Firefly Aerospace, Max Polyakov is well positioned to make Skyrora a leader in the European space sector. Its investment in the Scottish space rocket company will provide stability and long-term funding, vital in a world where space technologies have become central to the Earth’s well-being, tackling climate challenges and creating entirely new industries.
Thanks to the strategic approach of this Ukrainian investor and Skyrora’s innovative technologies, the future of the European space industry looks more promising and sustainable.
