Spaceport bid ‘ready for take-off’

THE COMPANY behind Campbeltown’s bid to become the home of the new UK spaceport are revelling in the result of the bidding process.

The UK government announced last week that a licensing model will be used to determine the new site for a UK spaceport, with Machrihanish now in prime position to be selected with the former RAF airbase fulfilling much of the criteria specified for a perfect location.

Tom Millar, chairman of Campbeltown’s Discover Space UK, said: ‘There have been indications for some time that the government was moving towards this model but it is reassuring to have confirmation of the process so we can advance our plans.

‘We strongly expect safety and logistics to feature at the very top of priorities from any licensing agreement, which puts the runway-ready Discover Space UK in a very strong position to become the country’s first spaceport.

‘We are confident that our site offers the best possible option, especially under a licensing arrangement. We are the only one of the bidders to have a suitable runway, we have got the best launch direction and 1,000 acres of opportunity on site.

The communityowned airbase is the only shortlisted bidder to have been twice approved for spaceflight already, and is the only one of the list that can meet the UK government’s minimum runway length for the proposed facility.

The base has space credentials which go back as far as 1981, when NASA approved the site as an emergency landing spot for the space shuttle.

The 3,049m long runway, which launches straight over the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the few able to welcome a landing shuttle and get it back in the air via a Boeing 747 shuttle aircraft carrier.