Ayrshire Post

Airport set for race into space

- Gary Fanning

Prestwick is another s t e p c l o s e r t o becoming the first commercial spaceport in Europe.

With the Space Industry Act receiving royal assent last week and a regulatory framework in place, the airport is set to apply to become the first fully operationa­l, licensed spaceport in the UK and Europe.

Prestwick Airport aims to offer horizontal launches of orbital and sub- orbital missions for satellite launches, microgravi­ty experiment­s and passenger spacefligh­t experience­s.

Richard Jenner, director of the spaceport project, said: “We are delighted the enabling legislatio­n is being enacted. It is a very significan­t stage in the process.

“We have had a profession­al technical assessment o f o u r i n f r a s t r u c t u re and facilities conducted by independen­t consultant­s and we confidentl­y meet all the technical criteria set out by the Department for Transport.

“These include our favourable meteorolog­ical conditions, relatively clear airspace and excellent transport links, as well as our ability to meet the needs of industry, with many aerospace businesses on our doorstep and the room on site to accommodat­e more.

“As such, we believe that our airport is able to move at pace with the legislativ­e process equipping us to become the UK and Europe’s first space launch site with minimal investment.

“The space industry is predicted to be worth £ 400bn globally by 2030 and the UK aims to target 10 per cent of that business by then.

“We are confident we can help the government to meet its commitment to have space launch capability in the UK by 2020.

“A UK spaceport based in Prestwick would be an economic win for Scotland and the UK.

“Prestwick Airport has a long history of being in the forefront of aviation and aerospace and we’re really excited for this new opportunit­y to diversify and develop our business.”

 ??  ?? Innovation Spacefligh­t experience­s
Innovation Spacefligh­t experience­s
 ??  ?? Spaceport How it could look
Spaceport How it could look

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