The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Countdown to mission control in the Highlands
Spaceport: Orbex plant at Forres to be nerve centre for rocket launches
Rocket launches from the proposed spaceport in the north Highlands will be monitored at a “mission control centre” in Forres, it has been announced.
Orbex, which set up headquarters and a factory to build launch vehicles in the Moray town this year, said the facility is already being used in engine tests and flight simulation, two years ahead of its planned first launch from the A’Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland.
The spaceflight firm revealed its choice of Forres for mission control
“We’re creating rockets in a way that hasn’t been done before”
activities for flights from Scotland and other sites as it released the first images and details of work being carried out at the manufacturing plant.
It said: “From here, flight controllers will have access to numerous data streams from the launch vehicle during lift-off and flight, allowing complete remote command and control.
“Today, the mission control centre is used to monitor engine tests and simulate flight operations.”
The company added that it currently operates two rocket engine test sites, one at a “secure location in the UK” and the other in
Denmark. When it opened its Moray base in February, Orbex said it hoped its Prime rockets built there would be blasting off from the proposed first vertical launch site in the UK carrying small satellites into orbit by 2021.
In a £17.3 million project, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), a formal planning application to build the facility, known as Space
Hub Sutherland, is expected to be submitted to Highland Council before the end of this year.
In preparation for its first lift-off, Orbex said it had installed several new production systems at Forres, including one of the largest carbon-fibre winding machines in Europe.
The 60-foot long machine automates the rapid weaving of intricate mixes of materials to build the main rocket structures.
Orbex said that after years of research, its choice of design and materials meant the Prime rocket would be 30% lighter than similar rockets, allowing acceleration from 0-825mph in 60 seconds.
The company’s chief executive Chris Larmour said: “We’re creating rockets in a way that hasn’t been done before.”