Spacetech

From Startup to Stardust: The Story of Skyrora

Sep 15, 2025 | By Kailee Rainse

A Vision Beyond the Horizon

When the UK Civil Aviation Authority awarded Skyrora a vertical launch operator licence in August 2025, the press called it a national first. But behind that moment was Volodymyr Levykin, another Ukrainian born entrepreneur who had already conquered the world of IT and data services before entering aerospace. For Levykin the golden ticket was not so much about the rocket but about showing that a single businessman could, with a bit of intelligence, some clever thinking, and the right investment, set an entire nation on the path it should be taking in space.

From IT Entrepreneur to Space Pioneer

Levykin’s career took root far from launching pads and spaceports. Hailing from a technology and entrepreneurship background, he is understood to have started companies that addressed urgent problems in the digital age.

But his ceaseless curiosity drew him toward something even more audacious space. In 2017, he set up Skyrora, with the backing of a government agency or a billionaire’s wealth, but with the belief that the UK should have its own access to orbit. His decision was an embodiment of the single most important quality a founder can possess: the courage to enter into an arena where the odds are impossibly stacked against you.

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The Entrepreneurial Mindset: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

Building rockets in Britain was not technically complex but also politically fraught and financially charged. Levykin had to fight regulatory uncertainty, high costs of development, and skepticism on the part of industry veterans and investors.

Rather than backing off, he transformed constraints into invention. 

At a time when the world was holding its breath for SpaceX and Blue Origin, Levykin put Skyrora on the map for a change; by marrying two interesting ideas: sustainability and exploration.

His team developed Ecosene, an environmentally friendly rocket fuel made from plastic waste, a reminder that progress and responsibility could lift it off together.

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The Defining Moment: August 2025

The CAA licence was more than just a permit, it was a validation. Years of effort paid off for Levykin with the UK government awarding Skyrora the right to launch rockets from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, possibly 16 flights a year. For Britain, that meant freedom of access to space. For Levykin, it was confirmation that entrepreneurship can move daring ideas into institutional existence. It was the time when his personal quest aligned with a country’s desire.

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Building More Than a Business

What makes Levykin's journey so extraordinary is not just what Skyrora builds, but how it builds. Throughout, he has stressed native talent, homegrown innovation, and sustainability. His leadership has garnered support from governments and international partners. Still, his message — the cornerstone of the Brexit program —remains one of sovereignty: Britain should not be dependent on others to put satellites in the sky. In that sense, Levykin is not just an entrepreneur; he is a strategist molding national capability out of private ambition. 

Pioneering a New Industry in the UK

Levykin also has ambitions that extend beyond building rockets; he aims to create a new industry in the UK. Other countries had space programs that had existed for decades, but Britain's space industry was primarily focused on deploying satellites for research and design. Levykin saw the potential that was never realized and realized a private company could fill the gap between innovation and national capability. By daring to do something that so few would ever dare consider, he turned Skyrora into a hotbed of domestically grown expertise. He demonstrated that entrepreneurial courage can redefine a whole industry. 

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Inspiring a Generation of Innovators

The path of Levykin is also serving as an inspiration to a new generation of British entrepreneurs. And by setting out to penetrate an industry that many assumed was closed to free markets without government help, he has proven that vision and nerve can even hurdle the nation’s most forbidding barriers.Students, engineers and prospective founders now see Skyrora as a testament to the fact that ambition and execution can break down the doors of industries that were once thought of as unattainable. His story also upends common perceptions of entrepreneurship, demonstrating that bold ideas can evolve into national landmarks. 

A Legacy in the Making

In the end, Volodymyr Levykin wasn’t just building a company; he was building a legacy. Skyrora demonstrates the fusion of aspiration, technology, sustainability and patriotism. Laser focused on green breakthroughs; Ecosene fuel, control of satellite launches for the UK; Levykin has proved that entrepreneurialism can provide not just profits, but progress.  His journey is a reminder that the most impactful leaders are those who dare not just to dream but to realize their dreams, apply their convictions, and succeed whilst doing so, and align their pursuit with the greater good. 

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