The Space Sector in Scotland
The final frontier may not be so very far away. Exciting developments are happening across the UK as the UK space industry grows. The government reported in 2021 that the number of jobs created within the space sector had grown to 3,000 and that the number of “organisations engaged in space-related activity in the UK has increased from 948 to 1,218”. Excitingly more than one in three employees are female.
Scotland is at the forefront of this growth. This is because many of the planned developments are focused on providing spaceports for the launch of small satellites to achieve a polar orbit. That is an orbit in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the Earth. This type of orbit is often used for Earth-mapping, Earth observation, and weather satellites as it allows observation of the whole Earth. Here comes the science part…launching into a polar orbit is difficult due to the motion of the Earth. As Scotland is closer to the North pole than the equator it means there is less Earth spin rate to negotiate when launching.
Space Locations in Scotland
The British company Orbex is constructing a rocket test facility in Kinloss, Moray. Launch vehicles will be tested at this new site before being moved to Space Hub Sutherland. Space Hub Sutherland, in the Scottish Highlands is due to begin construction this year and is being developed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It will be the world’s first carbon neutral spaceport and the only spaceport in the UK to have received full planning permission.
Again in the Shetlands The Shetlands Space Centre is looking to build a satellite and ground station in Unst at Saxa Vord, a RAF radar station.
Planning application has been submitted to develop Prestwick Spaceport with the hope that by 2035 the spaceport will be able to provide a range of services, including the launch of satellites, microgravity flights and hypersonic flights services. It is expected that commercial rocket launches will begin in autumn 2023.
Discover Space UK is a joint venture commercial launch service operator by Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC) and UK Launch Services Ltd (UKLSL) supporting small scale rocket launch and spaceflight operations from Machrihanish Spaceport and launch sites across the UK.
According to a Savills report which examined the growth of the spacer sector, these companies have needs for all types of commercial property, especially research and development units.
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