Scots spaceport bosses say 30 'tartan rockets' a year will bring in mega profits
14.01.2024 - 05:13
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
The operators of a proposed spaceport claim it can launch 30 “tartan rockets” a year from Scotland at a cost of more than £200million.
Bosses at Orbex said their site on Shetland will fire its first one later this year and said each launch is worth around £7million.
Scottish Government enterprise figures claim the plans for the SaxaVord site – which received planning permission last month – will end up being worth billions to the economy.
The details emerged at Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee last week where chairman Pete Wishart MP described them as tartan rockets. The site’s owners also insisted that construction issues, revealed by the Sunday Mail last year, had been sorted out.
Asked if they would be a “barrier to your timeframe in getting the first launch”, Scott Hammond, the deputy CEO of SaxaVord Spaceport, said: “No. Pad one is just about complete, which is where (rocket company) Rocket Factory Augsburg will be launching from.”
Three launchpads are being planned. Hammond added: “We received our licence at the end of last year for up to 30 launches a year of rockets that can put 1500 kg at a time up into space. That is a massive step for the UK and Scotland. We are aiming to do launches in the summer.”
Martin Coates, of Orbex, suggested to the committee that government contracts to launch satellites into space would help the site, with each launch costing £7million.
The firm said it has brought in engineers and technicians to work at their HQ in Forres but more jobs would follow along with research work at institutions in Edinburgh.
David Oxley, of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: ”For Sutherland, over the next 25 years, this is a £1billion economic opportunity.”
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