Unst has been known for centuries for its rich variety of wildlife, pristine beaches and pristine sea views. Now the remote Shetland island is leading Britain into space.
A former RAF base on a remote island peninsula has become the UK’s first licensed spaceport for vertical rocket launches. It will allow up to 30 satellites and other payloads to be launched into commercially valuable polar, sun-synchronous orbits, which are in high demand from satellite operators for communications and Earth observation.
The site, SaxaVord Spaceport, was identified in a 2017 report as a place where rockets carrying the largest payloads could be launched into space with the lowest risk to people on the ground, if the spacecraft failed and returned to the earth crash.
The island, which has about 650 inhabitants, is at the northernmost tip of the British Isles and was one of the first Viking outposts in the North Atlantic. Its location means that rockets launched from the site do not have to travel over populated areas, unlike those launched from other sites, which have to perform dog-leg maneuvers, which limit the weight of the payload they can carry. restrict.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has now given approval for the first rockets to take off from Unst next year. “This is a lifeline for our islands,” Elizabeth Johnson, the spaceport’s project manager, told the BBC. “We need economic and social activities to ensure that the island remains viable.”
Unst has struggled due to the closure of the RAF base and airport and the loss of services, including the closure of schools, doctors’ surgeries and care centres.
“It’s absolutely stunning here,” Pat Burns, owner of the Final Checkout cafe, told the Guardian in 2017. “We are the most northerly and the most beautiful island in Shetland.
“But many of the young people go to university, and once they are on the mainland, there is nothing to entice them to come back. It can mean work and opportunities.”
The development of the spaceport, which includes three launch pads and a hangar for assembling rockets, has cost just under £30m so far. There are also plans to build a hotel and visitor center at SaxaVord.
Tim Johnson, director of space regulation at the CAA, said: “Awarding SaxaVord their license is an era-defining moment for the UK space sector [and] marks the start of a new chapter for UK space.”
