Blast off ! Shetland to become UK’s f irst spaceport

AN island on the final frontier of the British Isles has won the race to be the home of the UK’s first spaceport.

Tiny Unst, on the northern tip of Shetland, is now the top choice by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin for a commercial rocket launch site.

The first launch, carrying small satellites into low Earth orbit, is set to take place next year.

The move is a giant step for Britain’s ambitions as a key player in the burgeoning space industry.

An announcement about Shetland is due to be made later this month by the official bodies involved in the multimillion-pound project, dashing the hopes of rivals across the country.

John Neilson, a spokesman for Lockheed Martin, which was awarded £23.5 million by the UKSA to identify and develop a vertical-launch site in Britain, said: ‘We are proud to be working in partnership with the UK Space Agency and partners, including both Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Shetland Space Centre, to deliver a first vertical satellite launch from Scotland.

‘Its mission will be to collect data from space that will help drive economic growth across the country.’

The news of Shetland’s success will come as a particularly heavy blow for those behind a rival £17.3 million scheme in the Highlands. It is only two months since Space Hub Sutherland received planning permission for their project, and a decision last week by the Scottish Government not to call in the plans for a public inquiry was interpreted as a green light.

It is understood Lockheed Martin will continue to work with the Sutherland site but is in the process of transferring the bulk of its business interests and grant funding to the Shetland Space Centre.

Provided the site earmarked for the spaceport on Unst is given planning approval, it is thought likely that the first rocket launch will take place at the end of next year.

Mr Neilson said: ‘With a project of this complexity, we continually review our plans to maximise the chance of mission success. Project updates will be provided as and when programme milestones are achieved.’

It is understood the decision to focus on Shetland follows tests which showed more than twice as many rockets, carrying a wider range of payloads, could be launched from Unst, compared to Sutherland, which would be limited to 12 per year.

Industry sources have said Lockheed Martin now sees both facilities as being complementary to each other and suited for launches of different types and different clients.

A full planning application for the Shetland Space Centre is expected to go before the local authority within the next two months for three launch pads at Lamba Ness and Saxa Vord – one to be operated by Lockheed Martin and two smaller ones to be used by other interested companies.

It is understood the local landowner and crofters have given the project their backing, as has the 600-strong island community.

An insider said: ‘For a spaceport to thrive, it needs to get to a critical mass of launches over a period and Shetland is able to deliver more than twice the capacity than Sutherland. It’s down to geography and physics. If you are flying rockets, you are not allowed to fly over centres of population or oil installations, so rocket companies have discovered with the Sutherland site they would be left having to make a dog leg turn to avoid everything. That is still feasible but you’d need a bigger rocket and a smaller payload, so the economics of it fall away quickly.’

Meanwhile, Sutherland residents are divided over their spaceport plans, and its threat to peatland and wildlife on the A’Mhoine peninsula.

Scotland’s largest private landowner, Anders Povlsen, whose Wildland Limited company has estates nearby, has threatened potential legal action if the project, by HIE, goes ahead.

A spokesman for the UKSA said: ‘We continue to support the ambitions of all potential spaceport sites, including Space Hub Sutherland and Shetland Space Centre, as well as the companies wishing to launch from these sites.

‘The UK Space Agency considers any proposed changes to grants very carefully to ensure our funding delivers long-term value to the UK.’