It’s writtenen in the stars rs

shop. Stornoway is in the running to be a space port partly because it sports one of the UK’s longest runways.

It was home to the RAF from the Second World War until the end of the Cold War.

Dr MacLeod’s 30-year career so far includes experience in aerospace engineering, physics and micro- electronics. He also had a five- year placement at US space agency NASA.

He left Lewis when he was a teenager to pursue his scientific ambitions but three years ago decided to return to his roots.

“There is nothing incompatible with being in a remote island location like this and being at the absolute forefront of space

With a lengthy runway, the island is seen as the ideal spot for a space port. THE Government announced five years ago that Britain should lead the way on commercial space flight.

Spaceport sites must have a runway longer than 3000m (9842ft). This is because it is believed the spaceport will launch horizontal take-off “spaceplanes”, not old-style vertical rockets.

In 2015 a shortlist of five potential sites was announced. In addition to Machrihanish and Prestwick, Stornoway in the Western Isles was mentioned as it was one of the few sites that would be able to house vertical launch rockets.

The Scottish sites were in competition with Llanbedr Airport in Wales and Newquay Cornwall Airport.

However, last year the Government decided any airport that met the criteria could become a spaceport. research,” he said. “It is almost a happy accident that I have come back to Stornoway when it is being talked about as a potential space port.

“It is not inconceivable that in 20 or 30 years’ time there will be a large hangar here that makes spaceships instead of oil rigs.”

Dr Macleod said the main challenge was to find a cheaper alternative to using traditional rockets, which are enormously expensive and can’t be reused.

The engineer and his team have begun designing a reusable jet engine which could take an aircraft from a runway