A tour of the UK’s spaceports

A variety of locations are in development as potential spaceports, mostly in remote regions to avoid impacting too many people. Here are five that are already in the works – and planning launches

Newquay, Cornwall

Based at Cornwall Airport Newquay, this spaceport will be used for horizontal launches, which means adapted airplanes will take off with a rocket onboard, launching it from 35,000 feet. Spaceport Cornwall is being built by Cornwall Council, the Local Enterprise Partnership, Goonhilly Earth Station and Virgin Orbit, which will supply the first launch planes and rockets. The first launch is expected in the summer of 2022. Because Spaceport Cornwall is operating from an existing airport using standard planes, the only thing holding up the process is licensing.

Sutherland, Scotland

Space Hub Sutherland has overcome the legal hurdles and has planning permission in place. A vertical launch site, it will work with Orbex in the hope of launching environmentally sustainable rockets to put satellites into space at some point in 2022.

Shetland Islands, Scotland

A rival site to Sutherland, the Shetland Space Centre has since been renamed as SaxaVord. It has the benefit of a remote location on the northern island of Unst – and investment from billionaire Anders Povlsen, who chucked money at the project alongside his legal objection to the Sutherland project. This project will work with Lockheed Martin as a launch partner, but is waiting on final planning application approval.

Prestwick, Scotland

Based at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on the west coast of Scotland, the Prestwick Spaceport is planning to hold its first horizontal commercial rocket launches from the second half of 2023. The project is helped by being neighbours with Prestwick Aerospace, home to a host of space–related companies, including BAE Systems.

Snowdonia, Wales

Wales could be set to get its own horizontal launching spaceport in Snowdonia, at Llanbedr Airfield in Gwynedd. A test launch using a balloon to carry the rocket part of the way up was run by B2Space in March 2020.