{"id":18437,"date":"2018-07-16T00:16:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-15T16:16:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/british-government-selects-scotlands-sutherland-site-to-be-prime-u-k-spaceport\/"},"modified":"2018-07-16T00:16:52","modified_gmt":"2018-07-15T16:16:52","slug":"british-government-selects-scotlands-sutherland-site-to-be-prime-u-k-spaceport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/british-government-selects-scotlands-sutherland-site-to-be-prime-u-k-spaceport\/","title":{"rendered":"British government selects Scotland\u2019s Sutherland site to be prime U.K. spaceport"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sutherland
Artwork shows the spaceport at Scotland\u2019s Sutherland site. (HIE \/ Courtesy of Perfect Circle PV)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The British government has selected a spot in Sutherland, on the A\u2019Mhoine Peninsula in the Scottish Highlands, as the site of the country\u2019s first vertical-launch spaceport. Three other sites will receive boosts for horizontal air-launch operations.<\/p>\n

In a news release timed to coincide with the opening of this week\u2019s Farnborough International Airshow, the government said it would provide initial funding of \u00a32.5 million ($3.3 million) to Highlands and Islands Enterprise to develop the vertical-launch site in Sutherland, with an aim of seeing the first liftoff in the early 2020s.<\/p>\n

The consortium behind the Sutherland bid includes Lockheed Martin.<\/p>\n

Sutherland was chosen for the United Kingdom\u2019s first vertical launch site after an assessment of several proposed spaceport sites in Scotland as well as Wales and England\u2019s Cornwall region. The UK Space Agency determined that the spot on Scotland\u2019s north coast was the best place to target highly sought-after satellite orbits with vertically launched rockets.<\/p>\n