Origin Story
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Board Advisors
David McKay
David is a seasoned test pilot, astronaut, and aviation leader, recently retired as Virgin Galactic’s VP of Flight & Test Operations and Chief Pilot. He led the company’s historic spaceflight campaign, building and training its flight operations team, advancing major system and infrastructure upgrades, and securing key airspace agreements with government agencies.
Ian Beresford
Ian is an accomplished Engineering and Operations Director with broad experience in Test and Evaluation across the Air, Space, Land, and Maritime domains. Passionate about people, Ian has also led multi-disciplinary teams of engineers and scientists. He has overseen the development of numerous safety cases to ensure safe and efficient delivery of 'first of class', high hazard activities.
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Our Story
Created to deliver safe, sovereign access to space, Fire Arrow’s team of experienced engineers is dedicated to making space more accessible, secure, and built for an optimistic future.
Turning bold launch ideas into reality is what we do. We don’t just build infrastructure, we close the gap between Earth and space.
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Origin story
Origin Story
Fire Arrow officially took flight in 2023, but its roots stretch back to 2018, when Stuart Fyvie, Mick O’Connor, and Daniel Smith first joined forces in the UK space sector. Before Fire Arrow even had a name, the trio worked on pivotal projects like Prestwick Spaceport and Sutherland Spaceport. Though they were under different banners at that time, each brought a piece of the puzzle: Stuart’s project management expertise, infrastructure delivery know-how, Mick’s hands-on aerospace operations and leadership background, and Daniel’s deep knowledge of the global space landscape.
By 2023, they realized that their combined experience was the perfect launchpad for something new. Fire Arrow was born out of a desire to build on those early experiences and to create a consortium of like-minded individuals — bringing together subject matter experts from every field necessary to deliver a nation’s spaceport ambitions end-to-end.
Now, as a cohesive team, they draw on that consortium of expertise — whether from the Scottish Highlands or from global regulatory corridors — to help “pre-launch nations” around the world turn their spaceport dreams into reality. Fire Arrow is more than just a consultancy; it’s a mission-driven partner dedicated to making space access achievable, sustainable, and economically transformative for all.
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Team
Dr Mick O'Connor CDir CEng
Managing Director
With over 40 years of experience across space, aerospace, defence, aviation, and major infrastructure sectors, he brings deep operational insight to every mission. His work in spaceflight began in 2005 at QinetiQ, where he led the UK Ministry of Defence’s live missile test ranges as General Manager. In 2019, he took on the role of Programme Director for horizontal launch at Prestwick Spaceport, helping to shape one of the UK’s leading spaceport initiatives.
Stuart Fyvie BSc MSc
Operations Director
Stuart Fyvie brings three decades of leadership in aerospace and infrastructure, combining technical, commercial, and policy expertise with a deep commitment to Scotland’s space ambitions. Since 2018, he has been instrumental in delivering key national projects including Sutherland Spaceport, Prestwick Spaceport, and the Mhoine Peninsula aerospace hub — each focused on using space to unlock rural regeneration and innovation. As a long-standing member of Space Scotland, he has represented the country at major international forums, helping raise Scotland’s profile as a trusted and capable space nation. In 2023, Stuart co-founded Fire Arrow Ltd, an international consortium supporting “pre-launch nations” in developing sovereign launch capability, with active programmes in Oman, Malaysia, Uruguay, and Japan. Alongside this, through Atlas Project Services, he provides client-side leadership on high-hazard and regulated infrastructure across the UK. A frequent contributor to national policy debates — including the House of Lords and Westminster Business Forum — Stuart continues to advocate for Scotland’s place in the global space community, ensuring that industry growth is both internationally connected and locally transformative.
Daniel Smith
Commercial Director
Daniel has played a founding role in five space companies in the past decade, including a leading European orbital launch vehicle developer, a national space industry association, an ESA-supported launch brokerage firm and the world’s first international space communications business, AstroAgency, which supports more than 80 space companies and multiple space agencies with promotion and market intelligence. In 2024 he was appointed as the Scottish Government’s Trade & Investment Envoy for Space and serves on the UK Space Agency’s Space Safety & Sustainability advisory group, as well as the LaunchUK Industry Group. A committed advocate for space sustainability, Daniel is a member of the UN High Level Expert Group on Data & Frontier Technologies and is a regular space commentator in space, tech and mainstream media.