Rocket fever hits sleepy, remote Scottish county
Never mind Brexit: For a remote peninsula in the Scottish highlands, the buzz is all about hi- tech rocket launchers firing satellites into space.
In just three years’ time, rockets will send satellites into orbit from the rugged stretch of coastline, under British government plans unveiled this week.
The sleepy county of Caithness and Sutherland has been selected as the site of the country's first ever space port, Britain announced at the Farnborough Airshow, a showpiece event for the global aerospace sector.
The UK Space Agency awarded a $ 3.3- million, 2.8million- euro grant towards the construction of a vertical space port facility in Sutherland, which will become operational in 2021.
The announcement has boosted hopes for an industry worried about the effects of Britain leaving the European Union and raised spirits in pro- EU Scotland, which was outvoted in the 2016 referendum. “It is rocket science,” Roy Kirk, area manager for Caithness and Sutherland at Highlands and Islands Enterprise ( HIE), a development agency for Scotland's devolved government, said. The launchers, made by established player Lockheed Martin and startup business Orbex, will stand 17 metres ( 56 feet) tall and will fire rockets that take just eight minutes to get into orbit.
“We are delighted we have been selected as a spaceport for vertical launch,” said Kirk, adding that the site would also create tourism opportunities.
“The local economy will benefit.” The space port would employ about 40 staff within three years of operation, but the supply chain around that would support nearer 400 jobs.
Satellite uses include navigation, weather forecasting, telecommunications and financial transactions, while they are also vital for defence and energy sectors.
The Sutherland facility will cost an estimated 17.3 million pounds to build, including some 10 million pounds from HIE.
The port will be well positioned geographically to launch satellite rockets over the North Pole.
PM Theresa May’s government is seeking to develop the UK space industry after its role in European space projects was called into question by Brexit.
Space is one of UK’s fastest growing sectors and generates more than 13 billion pounds of income per year. “Our ambition to grow the sector is in no way any different than it was before Brexit,” Graham Turnock, head of the UK Space Agency.