SaxaVord Spaceport, previously known as Shetland Space Centre, is a planned

spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...

to be located on the Lamba Ness peninsula on

Unst Unst (; sco, Unst; nrn, Ønst) is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of . Unst ...

, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands. The proposed site is near the

RAF Saxa Vord Remote Radar Head Saxa Vord or RRH Saxa Vord (aka RAF Saxa Vord), is a Royal Air Force radar station located on the island of Unst, the most northern of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. As of July 2019 it is once more a fully operational rada ...

radar station Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, wea ...

and the settlement of Skaw, adjacent to the Saxa Vord distillery.

History

Lockheed Martin's UK Pathfinder satellite launch system may launch from this spaceport. The proposed launch vehicle under this programme is the RS1 from

ABL Space Systems ABL Space Systems is an American private company, based in El Segundo, California, undertaking launch vehicle and launch systems technology development using CNC and 3D printing and minimized launch operations. The company manufactures its com ...

, a US-based company developing 27 m tall rockets capable of carrying payloads up to 1000 kg into a Sun-synchronous orbit. The UK Pathfinder Launch programme is supported by £23.5 million of

UK Space Agency The United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) is an executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the United Kingdom's civil space programme. It was established on 1 April 2010 to replace the British National Space Centre ...

grants. The launch site would also be used by HyImpulse Technologies, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

rocket maker aiming for engine and suborbital testing by the end of 2021, with orbital launches by 2023. In October 2021,

Skyrora Skyrora Ltd is a private space company based in the United Kingdom since 2017. The company specialises in the design and manufacture of modular disassemblable rocket launch vehicles, specifically for the launch of small satellites, and portable ...

signed a multi-launch deal over the next decade for this site, hoping to start sending satellites into orbit within 2022. Plans for the spaceport were submitted to Shetland Islands Council by Farningham Planning in January 2021 to enable up to 30 launches per year. The proposal is for three rocket launch pads on Lamba Ness peninsula with additional infrastructure such as a satellite tracking facility, rocket hangars and integration facilities. The plans also document proposals for a Range Control Centre at the former RAF Saxa Vord complex, fuel storage facilities at Ordale Airport at Baltasound, and improvements to the launch site's approach roads. On 29 March 2021,

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

(HES), a statutory body, refused consent for the development on the grounds it would destroy a scheduled monument of national significance. The refusal of consent carries significant legal weight, as it is a criminal offence to carry out works to a scheduled monument without such authorisation. Due to the almost one-to-one overlap of the monument location with the proposed spaceport, this refusal has led to concerns being voiced about the viability of the Shetland spaceport project. On 20 January 2022, Historic Environment Scotland withdrew its objection, stating "We recognise the benefits that this development will bring to the community in Unst". In January 2023,

Rocket Factory Augsburg Rocket Factory Augsburg AG (RFA) is a German New space, New Space start-up located in Augsburg. It was founded in 2018 with the mission to build rockets just like cars. Its multistage rocket, , is currently under development and scheduled to l ...

signed a multi-year launch agreement which would give the company exclusive access to the northernmost launch pad of the spaceport, Launch Pad Fredo, with testing of the RFA One core stage beginning in mid-2023 and a first launch scheduled in late 2023.

References

External links

* Shetland Unst Spaceports in Europe Space programme of the United Kingdom {{scotland-struct-stub

History

See also

References

External links