SCOTLAND’S Sutherland Spaceport has seen constriction begin for the first vertical launch spaceport to be built on the UK mainland.
A £14.6m Public Investment Package has been confirmed to support the carbon-neutral project.
Located on the north coast of Scotland, the spaceport will be the home spaceport of Forres-based rocket and launch services company, Orbex.
They will use the site to launch up to 12 orbital rockets per year for the deployment of satellites into Earth’s orbit.
Sutherland Spaceport is intended to become the first carbon-neutral spaceport in the world, both in its construction and its operation.
Peat lifted during the construction will be re-used to repair large areas of peatland that have degraded over centuries.
The establishment of a commercial spaceport in Sutherland is expected to support around 250 new employment opportunities in the Highlands and Islands over the coming years.
The presence of the spaceport has the potential to generate almost £1bn in gross value added (GVA) for the Highlands and Islands economy over the next 30 years.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority will contribute £3m to support the development of Sutherland Spaceport.
This will complete a public investment package that also includes just over £9m from HIE and the Scottish Government and £2.55m that the UK Space Agency announced in 2018.
The NDA chose to support Sutherland Spaceport following the decommissioning of the nearby Dounreay nuclear power station, as part of its remit to retire the UK’s oldest nuclear sites while supporting affected communities and the environment.
Orbex recently signed a 50-year sublease with HIE, enabling Orbex to direct the construction and assume full operational management of the new facility.
Orbex’s role in the spaceport is expected to stimulate significant private investment that will benefit the local community through job creation and supply chain opportunities.
In addition to the short-term contracts for local businesses and contractors, Orbex will be recruiting for skilled local jobs to support the operation of the spaceport.
The roles will span areas including facilities and operational management, security, general administration and finance, stakeholder engagement and launch campaign-related roles.
Employment opportunities will be advertised locally when recruitment commences.
In May 2022, Orbex revealed its innovative Prime rocket in its final form, the first time a full orbital micro-launcher has been unveiled in Europe.
Prime is a 19-metre long, two-stage rocket designed to transport small satellites weighing up to 180kg into Low Earth Orbit.
The six rocket engines on the first stage of the rocket will propel the vehicle through the atmosphere to an altitude of around 80km.
The single engine on the second stage of the rocket will complete the journey to LEO, allowing the release of its payload of small commercial satellites into Earth’s orbit.
Orbex has received widespread interest from commercial satellite manufacturers and has already signed launch contracts with seven customers.
The company also recently concluded its Series C funding round, netting the company an additional £40.4m.
Despite a challenging landscape for raising capital, Orbex attracted new investors and brought along many of its existing investors into the new round of funding.
The additional funding allows the company to maintain its long-term focus beyond the first launch.
Orbex Prime is powered by a renewable bio-fuel, Futuria Liquid Gas, supplied by Calor UK.
This fuel allows the rocket to reduce carbon emissions significantly compared to other similarly sized rockets being developed elsewhere around the world.
A study by the University of Exeter showed that a single launch of the Orbex Prime rocket will produce 96 per cent lower carbon emissions than comparable space launch systems using fossil fuels.
Prime is also a reusable rocket which has been engineered to leave zero debris on Earth and in orbit.
In preparation for the first launch, Orbex is performing a wide variety of integration tests, as well as testing launch procedures including rollout, strongback deployment and fuelling procedures.
To support the integration testing stage, over the last few months, Orbex has ramped up its recruitment efforts for its Forres headquarters, adding dozens of new team members.
Kristian von Bengtson, Chief Development Officer and Interim CEO at Orbex, said:”Sutherland represents a new breed of spaceport, for a new breed of rocket. This is 21st-century, agile spaceflight with sustainability at its core.
“With the construction of Sutherland Spaceport underway, this is an important piece of the puzzle that will make the UK a modern space nation.
“We’re hopefully also setting the tone for how business can be a force for good, creating jobs and opportunities while minimising the impact upon the environment.”
