Two years to go in countdown to first launch from spaceport in Highlands
SCOTLAND came a step closer to joining the space race yesterday after it was announced that the first launch from an isolated Highlands site is set for 2020.
Lockheed Martin, the US company running the project, said the first trip from A’Mhòine, in Sutherland, could be only two years away – a year earlier than planned – amid efforts to beat Norway and Sweden.
Scotland is the biggest producer of satellites outside the United States.
But research commissioned by the UK Space Agency has warned that Scotland is at risk of being beaten by its Scandinavian rivals in the drive become the first European country to build a spaceport.
Northern Europe is ideal for reaching polar orbits, which offer clear transmission signals to Earth for satellites and continuous sunshine for solar-powered batteries.
It is estimated 2,000 small satellites will be launched from the UK by 2030, with funding secured for other potential locations around the country.
The A’Mhòine spaceport – which is expected to employ 40 people and support 400 jobs – will initially be used for launching rockets and satellites but commercial passenger flights are expected to be available in the future.
Sky at Night presenter Maggie Aderin Pocock told The Times: ‘We already build our own satellites, but we will launch our own satellites and we will use the data from our own satellites.
‘The data itself is worth billions because countries around the world want to know what’s happening in their neck of the woods’.
Dr Aderin-Pocock said A’Mhòine will not be directly affected by Brexit as the UK will still collaborate with the European Space Agency. She added: ‘The biggest impact is the uncertainty at the moment.’