The UK’s new domestic spaceport in the Scottish Highlands has moved into a public consultation phase. Space Hub Sutherland is hoping to launch up to 10 small sat missions per year.
Development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which is backing the £17.3m project to design and build Space Hub Sutherland, lodged a proposal of application notice with the Highland Council on Wednesday, a notice that effectively triggers the start of a process that will lead to a formal application for planning consent being submitted to the local authority at the end of December.
The news comes a month after the Melness Crofters Estate – which owns the land on the Moine Peninsula – agreed to a lease to HIE for the development of the area – once planning permission has been secured. The lease option agreement with HIE officially came into effect on 1 August 2019.
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As part of pre-planning consultation, HIE is organizing public events with the local community in October and November.
Roy Kirk, HIE’s Space Hub Sutherland project director, said he hoped many local people would take up the opportunity to find out more and offer valuable feedback on the proposals.
“Space Hub Sutherland is now approaching a very exciting stage where we will shortly be able to start presenting the detail of our plans to stakeholders, including people who live in the vicinity of the launch site,” noted Mr. Kirk.
“We’ve been holding informal drop-in sessions at different locations for a few months now and delivering presentations to community groups and business organizations, which have been well-received.
“It’s really important for local people to have a chance to find out what the spaceport will mean for the area, and that we listen to their views to help shape our planning application.”
Perfect Circle (with annotations via the Daily Mail) render of the spaceport
HIE has approved £9.8m to develop Space Hub Sutherland, and the UK Space Agency has awarded £2.5m. A further £5m is being sought from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
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UKSA has also awarded grants to two companies that plan to launch satellites from Sutherland – Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Orbex, which has already established a manufacturing facility in the Moray town of Forres.
Lockheed Martin render of a launch from Sutherland
The first launch from the launch site is set to take place in 2021, with Orbex’s Prime rocket set for a maiden flight carrying an experimental payload from UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL). Orbex has also confirmed that it will launch an upcoming satellite in SSTL’s line of demonstrators by 2023.
In addition to the initial launch contracts, Orbex stated earlier this year that Swiss-based Astrocast SA selected Orbex to launch multiple nanosatellites for the development of a planet-wide Internet of Things (IoT) network.
Prime is the first commercial rocket engine designed to work with biopropane, a clean-burning, renewable fuel source that cuts carbon emissions by 90 percent compared to fossil hydrocarbon fuels, supplied by Orbex’s new exclusive BioLPG fuel partner Calor.
Prime during launch – via Orbex
Prime sports a specially-formulated lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum composite – and includes the world’s largest 3-D printed rocket engine.
With the UK Space sector showing continued growth, a domestic launch site was always the next obvious step. The increasing demand for small sat launches also provides a viable business opportunity for the class of rocket that will launch from Sutherland.
“This is a hugely ambitious project, not only for Sutherland but for the whole of the UK,” added Mr. Kirk.
“The British space sector is in a phase of expansion at present and the Highlands and Islands have the natural assets, skills base and supply chain expertise to capitalize on the huge opportunity this presents.
An economic impact assessment commissioned by HIE in 2018 concluded that the project could generate around 400 jobs across the Highlands and Islands, including 40 or so skilled positions at the space hub itself.
In addition to a launch pad complex, the spaceport will include an operations and control center, launch towers, an assembly building, an antenna farm, access roads, car parking and security fencing.
