UKSpaceAgency
Latest
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.
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.
