SaxaVord Spaceport

SaxaVord Spaceport, previously known as Shetland Space Centre,[1] is a planned spaceport to be located on the Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands. The proposed site is near the RAF Saxa Vord radar station and the settlement of Skaw, adjacent to the Saxa Vord distillery.

SaxaVord Spaceport
Proposed site on Lamba Ness
LocationLamba Ness, Unst, Shetland, Scotland, UK
Coordinates60.8184°N 0.7692°W / 60.8184; -0.7692
Launch history
First launch2023 (planned)
Associated
rockets		Skyrora XL, ABL RS1, Venture Orbital Systems Zephyr, Lockheed Martin UK Pathfinder, Astra, RFA One

History

Lockheed Martin's UK Pathfinder satellite launch system may launch from this spaceport.[2][3][4][5] The proposed launch vehicle under this programme is the RS1 from ABL Space Systems, a US-based company developing 27 m tall rockets capable of carrying payloads up to 1000 kg into a Sun-synchronous orbit.[6][7] The UK Pathfinder Launch programme is supported by £23.5 million of UK Space Agency grants.[8][9]

The launch site would also be used by HyImpulse Technologies, a German rocket maker aiming for engine and suborbital testing by the end of 2021, with orbital launches by 2023.[10]

In October 2021, Skyrora signed a multi-launch deal over the next decade for this site, hoping to start sending satellites into orbit within 2022.[11]

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.[12][13]

On 29 March 2021, Historic Environment Scotland (HES), a statutory body, refused consent for the development on the grounds it would destroy a scheduled monument of national significance.[14] 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 led to concerns being voiced about the viability of the spaceport project.[15] In January 2022, HES withdrew the objection, stating "We recognise the benefits that this development will bring to the community in Unst".[16]

In January 2023, German company Rocket Factory Augsburg signed a multi-year launch agreement which would give 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.[17]

In May 2023, spaceport CEO Frank Strang announced a new $137 million debt financing package during a UK Parliamentary Science and Technology Committee hearing.[18] The source of the funding was not revealed.

On 28 July 2023, the United Kingdom's UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) granted HyImpulse permission to launch its SR75 rocket for the first time from SaxaVord between 1 December 2023 and 30 November 2024.[19] Although SaxaVord is yet to receive its spaceport licence, the CAA has confirmed that the spaceport will not need the licence to host the suborbital SR75 flight due to the 47-kilometre max altitude being targeted and the size of the rocket's engine. [20]

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The proposed site for the spaceport is on Lamba Ness, on the north east edge of Unst, the most northerly of the inhabited Shetland Islands.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Name change and rebrand for our rocket site". Shetland Space Centre. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  2. "Transfer of Lockheed Martin UKVL Pathfinder Programme to Unst". Shetland Space Centre. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  3. "Shetland spaceport boosts UK's plans for launch". gov.uk. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  4. "Shetland space centre plans take step nearer launch". BBC. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  5. "Proposed Development, Rev. E". Shetland Space Centre. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  6. David Todd (8 February 2021). "ABL's RS1 gets the nod from Lockheed Martin to fly from Unst in Shetland Islands". Seradata Space Intelligence. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  7. Foust, Jeff (7 February 2021). "Lockheed Martin selects ABL Space Systems for UK launch". SpaceNews. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  8. "Lockheed Martin and Orbex to launch UK into new space age". gov.uk (Press release). 16 July 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  9. "Lift-off for Shetland spaceport". gov.uk. 22 October 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  10. "German rocket maker plans to launch from Unst". Shetland Space Centre. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  11. "Rocket company agrees multi-launch deal from Shetland spaceport". uk.news.yahoo.com. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  12. "Shetland space launch plans submitted". BBC News. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  13. "Prospect of major boost to Shetland economy as space launch site plans lodged". Shetland Space Centre. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  14. "Space centre to 'vigorously contest' project's refusal". Shetland Times. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  15. "Historic environment agency rejects space centre plan to build at former radar base". Shetland News. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  16. Marter, Hans (20 January 2022). "SaxaVord spaceport overcomes major planning hurdle". Press and Journal. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  17. Kellner, Jonas (11 January 2023). "Rocket Factory Augsburg's first launch to take place from SaxaVord Spaceport". Rocket Factory Augsburg. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  18. de Selding, Peter (22 May 2023). "Saxavord Spaceport Secures 173 Million in Debt Financing". Space Intel Report.
  19. Parsonson, Andrew (17 August 2023). "HyImpulse to Debut SR75 Rocket No Earlier than December 1". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  20. Parsonson, Andrew (29 August 2023). "SaxaVord Does Not Need Spaceport Licence to Launch HyImpulse Mission". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 12 September 2023.


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