First UK vertical space port granted license
The first license for a vertical launch space port has been granted in the UK.
SaxaVord on the island of Unst in the north of Scotland has been granted a spaceport licence, the first for vertical launches, by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Newquay in Cornwall was the first space port for horizontal launched from an aircraft.
SaxaVord has a range of UK and European customers Rocket Factory Augsburg, HyImpulse, Lockheed Martin/ABL Systems and Skyrora and the licence allows up to 30 launches a year
“The award of our spaceport licence is both historic for Shetland, Scotland and the UK and places us firmly at the leading edge of the European and global space economy,” said Frank Strang, CEO of SaxaVord. “There is much to do still but this is a fantastic way to end the year and head into Christmas.”
However there is competition from another part of Scotland and from Sweden to provide vertical launches.
Another spaceport on the Scottish mainland at Sutherland started building work in April and last month started a revised planning application for its plans. The Proposal of Application Notice (PoAN) was submitted on 2 November 2023 with changes to reduce any environmental impacts of the spaceport both during construction and operations. Those plans are currently going through a public consultation and the project is backed by Orbex and Lockheed Matin.
The opening of the Esrange Space Centre in northern Sweden was attended by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in January 2023 and is carrying out test on key European space technologies ahead of vertical orbital launches.
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However it will be many months before there is an orbital launch from SaxaVord on Unst. The initial plan is for sub-orbital launches in 2024 and orbital launches in 2025.
“Granting SaxaVord their licence is an era defining moment for the UK space sector. This marks the beginning of a new chapter for UK space as rockets may soon launch satellites into orbit from Scotland,” said Tim Johnson, Director of Space Regulation at the UK CAA which awarded the license after a three year assessment process.
The licence also follows last week’s announcement of £3.4 million UK Space Agency funding for HyImpulse UK, a Shetland based launch company to undertake their Hybrid Propulsion Test Programme ahead of the proposed launch of their launch vehicle, named SL1, from SaxaVord Spaceport.
“The granting of SaxaVord’s spaceport licence by the UK Civil Aviation Authority is a hugely exciting milestone as we look forward to the first vertical launches from UK soil in the coming year,” said Matt Archer, Director of Launch at the UK Space Agency. “Getting to this stage is testament to the hard work by SaxaVord Spaceport and partners across government which moves us towards realising our ambitions for the UK to be the leading provider of small satellite launch in Europe by 2030.”
SaxaVord is also establishing the Space Environment Climate Control Centre to drive a responsible attitude to climate and the environment. Known as SaxaZero, it will monitor the spaceport’s impact on the natural environment as well as push for innovation in space industry sustainability.
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