spaceport
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SpaceX may launch rockets from an ocean spaceport as soon as next year
SpaceX's first ocean spaceport for the Starship launch vehicle could be ready as soon as next year.
SpaceX plans seaborne spaceports for Mars missions and hypersonic flights
SpaceX is hiring for planned spaceports that would launch Mars and Moon missions, not to mention hypersonic flights here on Earth.
UK's first spaceport will be located in Scotland
The UK government has announced that it plans to build Europe's first spaceport on the A'Mhoine Peninsula in Sutherland, Scotland. The boggy stretch is relatively uninhabited, remote and close to the North Sea. It's also the best place in the UK to reach satellite orbits with vertically launched rockets. The UK Space Agency will give Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) £2.5 million to develop a vertical launch pad "which will use a combination of proven and innovative rocket technologies," the UK government stated in a press release.
Virgin Galactic plans to open a commercial spaceport in Italy
Virgin Galactic announced today that it has partnered with two Italian aerospace companies with the aim to bring commercial space flight to Italy in the future, The Verge reports. Alongside Altec, which is owned in part by the Italian Space Agency, and private space company Sitael, Virgin Galactic intends to develop an Italian spaceport from which future flights can take off. "From the Renaissance to modern space science, Italy has always been a natural home to great innovators and breakthrough ideas which have shaped the human experience," Virgin Group founder Richard Branson said in a statement. "I believe Italy's vision, which has led to this collaboration with our Virgin space companies, will provide a real impetus as we strive to open space for the benefit of life on Earth."
The UK's spaceport ambitions inch closer to reality
The UK government's goal to play host to the first spaceport in Europe is taking a baby step closer to fruition today. After being introduced just over a year ago as the Draft Spaceflight Bill, the rebranded Space Industry Bill is receiving royal assent to become part of UK law. While it sounds fancy, the nuts and bolts of it are kinda boring. The legislation covers necessities like spaceflight licensing, insurance requirements and safety commitments. Not a particularly exciting read then, but it does lay the regulatory groundwork that'll be essential for an operational spaceport. The government hasn't provided any update on when it hopes one will open, but previously it's said 2020 sounds doable.
Queen's Speech 2017: What it means for UK tech
The General Election has been and gone, but questions remain regarding the suitability of Theresa May as Britain's premier. Nonetheless, as part of traditional ritual, MPs have once again descended upon the House of Lords for the reading of the Queen's Speech, where Her Majesty details the formal plan for the current government. Brexit and Britain's security were the banner announcements, but technology also played a key part, with driverless cars and spaceports the notable inclusions.
Canada's first spaceport could host launches in 2020
Canada will finally have its own spaceport courtesy of private space corporation Maritime Launch Services. The company plans to start building (PDF) the facility next year in an isolated town on Nova Scotia's eastern coast. It decided on the site after assessing 14 different candidates. The town's and surrounding areas' low population density and the fact that rockets launching from the spaceport will fly over a large body of water make it the perfect location.
Spaceflight Bill paves the way for a UK spaceport in 2020
Space isn't just big, it's big business. According to the government, the UK's space industry is already worth more than £13.7 billion to the economy, but one thing's missing: The infrastructure needed to send the next satellite or experiment up into the void from British shores. Plans to grow the commercial space sector have been under way for some time, and several potential sites for the UK's (and potentially Europe's) first spaceport have already been proposed. But before you can shoot for the stars, you have to regulate, which is the intention of the Draft Spaceflight Bill introduced today.
The Queen's Speech: What it means for technology
Another year, another Queen's Speech. In this hyper-traditional ritual, Her Royal Highness heads to the House of Lords to say a few words scripted by the current government. It is integral to the State Opening of Parliament, and lays out the general legislative agenda of the government for this year's session. The speech covers everything our leaders hope to achieve in the near future, so let's take a look at all the important tech-related to-dos.
UK moves another step closer towards opening the first European spaceport
While the US might be leading the race to open the first commercial spaceports, the UK is working hard to close the gap. More than six months after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) shortlisted eight potential spaceport locations, the government today backed plans to make one a reality.
SpaceX's new rocket facility officially lands in Brownsville, Texas
SpaceX made clear that it was going to put a launch facility in Texas before long, and today we've received the full skinny on just where that base is going. As suspected, the Governor's Office has announced that the commercial spaceport will be built in Brownsville, near the Mexico border. The state says it will pump a total of $15.3 million into the region to help create the necessary infrastructure. This isn't SpaceX's first Texan location (it already has a development site in McGregor), but it will certainly be the most conspicuous -- especially if rumors of multiple vehicle launches per day ultimately prove true.
UK plans to build first spaceport outside the US by 2018
The UK may not have the best history when it comes to space exploration, but that doesn't mean it's not interested in boldly going where only a few people have gone before. According to Sky News, Britain could play host to one of the first spaceports built outside of the US, with a shortlist of eight possible sites expected to be confirmed later this week. As it stands, six of the possible locations are in Scotland, suggesting places like Prestwick, Stornoway and Kinloss, with one in Wales (Llanbedr) and the other in England (Newquay). According to the report, construction could begin as early as 2018, although we're not sure what effect the Scottish Independence referendum would have on the plans. Still, we're loving the fact that any visiting aliens who've hitched a ride on a Virgin Galactic flight will be able to load up on Irn Bru or Teisen radell before heading back to space.
SpaceX inks lease with Spaceport America, will push reusable rocket higher
Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic crew will soon have a new neighbor at Spaceport America, as SpaceX has just signed a three-year lease to the facility. Central to the agreement, SpaceX will move its Grasshopper reusable rocket test program from McGregor, Texas to the southern New Mexico desert, where it aims to push Grasshopper higher than before. According to SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, the move was due to New Mexico's favorable regulatory situation, along with the physical landscape of the Spaceport America site. As fun as that sounds, though, we'd like to imagine that the opportunity to rub shoulders with other celebs in the commercial space industry clinched the decision.[Photo credit: Spaceport America / Flickr]
First commercial spaceport christens inaugural runway in New Mexico desert (video)
Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo won't have to taxi down public runways for much longer. Today, founder Richard Branson and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson cut the ribbon at a nearly two-mile long runway for the world's first commercial spaceport. While the rest of the facilities at New Mexico's Spaceport America are still under construction and Branson estimates sub-orbital launches are still nine to eighteen months away, the 42-inch-thick strip of pavement is definitely complete -- see the WhiteKnightTwo mothership come in for a landing right after the break. Update: Our best pals over at Gadling got a few exclusive interview snippets in their own video!
Deadly blast rocks Virgin Galactic rocket test
This week is quickly becoming a tough one for the aerospace industry, as just a day after NASA reported tampering on an ISS bound computer, an explosion at the Mojave Air and Space Port has claimed two lives and seriously injured four others. The blast reportedly occurred during a "test of a new rocket motor for SpaceShipTwo -- a spaceship being built for Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's space tourism company." According to a spokeswoman for the spaceport, the blast was "on a remote pad" at an airport home to Scaled Composite (which is the builder of the first private manned rocket to reach space), but the firm's founder Burt Rutan wasn't in attendance when the "cold fire test" went awry.
