Lockheed Martin's UK Pathfinder satellite launch system may launch from this spaceport.[2][3][4][5] The proposed launch vehicle under this programme is the RS1 from ABL Space Systems, a US-based company developing 27 m tall rockets capable of carrying payloads up to 1000 kg into a Sun-synchronous orbit.[6][7] The UK Pathfinder Launch programme is supported by £23.5 million of UK Space Agency grants.[8][9]
The launch site was also planned to be used by HyImpulse Technologies, a German rocket maker aiming for engine and suborbital testing by the end of 2021, with orbital launches aspirationally hoped for by 2023.[10][needs update]
In October 2021, Skyrora signed a multi-launch contract over the next decade for SaxaVord, hoping to start sending satellites into orbit as early as 2022.[11][needs update]
Plans for the spaceport were submitted to Shetland Islands Council by Farningham Planning in January 2021 to enable up to 30 launches per year. The proposal is for three rocket launch pads on Lambda Ness peninsula with additional infrastructure such as a satellite tracking facility, rocket hangars and integration facilities. The plans also document proposals for a Range Control Centre at the former RAF SaxaVord complex, fuel storage facilities at Ordale Airport at Baltasound, and improvements to the launch site's approach roads.[12][13]
On 29 March 2021, Historic Environment Scotland (HES), a statutory body, refused consent for the development of the spaceport on the grounds it would destroy a scheduled monument of national significance – the Chain Home radar station at Skaw.[14][15] The refusal of consent carries significant legal weight, as it is a criminal offence to carry out works to a scheduled monument without such authorisation. Due to the almost one-to-one overlap of the monument location with the proposed spaceport, this refusal led to concerns being voiced about the viability of the spaceport project.[16] In January 2022, HES withdrew the objection, stating "We recognise the benefits that this development will bring to the community in Unst".[17]
In January 2023, German company Rocket Factory Augsburg signed a multi-year launch agreement which would give exclusive access to the northernmost launch pad of the spaceport, Launch Pad Fredo, with testing of the RFA One core stage beginning in mid-2023 and a first launch scheduled as early as late 2023.[18]
In May 2023, spaceport CEO Frank Strang announced a new $137million debt financing package during a UK Parliamentary Science and Technology Committee hearing.[19][needs update] The source of the funding was not revealed.
On 28 July 2023, the United Kingdom's UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) granted HyImpulse permission to launch its SR75 rocket for the first time from SaxaVord between 1 December 2023 and 30 November 2024.[20] The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on 17 December 2023 that SaxaVord had been granted a spaceport licence "to host up to 30 launches a year", making it "the first fully licensed vertical spaceport in Western Europe."[21][22]
In April 2024, the spaceport was granted a range license by the Civil Aviation Authority.[23] In May 2024 Rocket Factory Augsburg's RFA One conducted an engine hotfire test at the spaceport site.[24]
On 19 August 2024, a static fire test of the RFA One first stage with all nine engines was conducted, on the stage that was slated to fly on the maiden flight of RFA One. The test experienced an anomaly that resulted in a fire, subsequent explosion, loss of the stage, and major damage to the launch mount.[25][26]
1km 0.6miles
N
O
R
W
E
G
I
A
N
S
E
A
Lamba Ness
Haroldswick
Norwick
Rocket assembly and storage area
satellite tracking area
control centre
launchpads
Launch pads
The proposed site for the spaceport is on Lamba Ness, on the north east edge of Unst, the most northerly of the inhabited Shetland Islands.[5]
