Lift-off in Shetland Islands for UK's first vertical spaceport
SaxaVord Spaceport aims to begin rocket launches next summer

A former RAF base on the remote Shetland island of Unst has become Western Europe's first licensed spaceport capable of launching rockets vertically.
The SaxaVord Spaceport, located on the northernmost island of the Shetland archipelago, has received a licence from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to begin launching rockets from next year.
The licence "will allow up to 30 satellites and other payloads" to be launched into "commercially valuable polar, sun-synchronous orbits", The Guardian said. Demand is high from satellite operators for such satellites, which can be used for communications purposes as well as for observation of the Earth.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
SaxaVord is one of three UK launch sites "vying to become Europe's leading spacehub", said Space.com.
Another contender, the Sutherland Spaceport, located on the A'Mhòine peninsula on the north coast of Scotland, is still awaiting a licence.
Britain has only one other licensed spaceport, in Newquay, Cornwall, but it can only support horizontal launches, meaning "rockets are launched from aircraft after being carried to high altitudes underwing", Space.com explained.
Scott Hammond, deputy chief executive of SaxaVord, told The National that while there are no current missions scheduled, next summer should be "achievable" to host the site's first launch. "I think we will be putting up satellites that will go up and grab old satellites and get them out of orbit so as to decrease space waste," Hammond said.
Two German companies, Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse, are currently hoping to carry out launches from SaxaVord next year.
According to Sky News, husband and wife Frank and Debbie Strang, who have owned the site since 2004, "also have plans for a hotel and visitor centre".
Frank Strang told the broadcaster the UK was "right at the head of the European Space Race".
"I see it as akin to the ascent of Everest by Hillary," he said. "It makes a statement, it creates a feelgood factor and it shows the world the UK is very serious about the space economy."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 20, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Pam Bondi, retirement planning, and more
By The Week US
-
5 heavy-handed cartoons about ICE and deportation
Cartoons Artists take on international students, the Supreme Court, and more
By The Week US
-
Exploring the three great gardens of Japan
The Week Recommends Beautiful gardens are 'the stuff of Japanese landscape legends'
By The Week UK
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Full moon calendar: dates and times for every full moon this year
In depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Scientists map miles of wiring in mouse brain
Speed Read Researchers have created the 'largest and most detailed wiring diagram of a mammalian brain to date,' said Nature
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Scientists genetically revive extinct 'dire wolves'
Speed Read A 'de-extinction' company has revived the species made popular by HBO's 'Game of Thrones'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Space ads could be coming to a sky near you
Under the radar Making space for commercial profits
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
We could be living in a black hole
Under the radar And our universe may not be the only one
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Dark energy may not doom the universe, data suggests
Speed Read The dark energy pushing the universe apart appears to be weakening
By Peter Weber, The Week US