Space / First launch from SaxaVord slips from August to September or early October
THE FIRST orbital launch from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst is now expected for late September or early October it has been confirmed.
Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow, deputy chief executive Scott Hammond said the space port was expecting to receive the last of the licences from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in September.
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), the German company in line to attempt the first vertical orbital launch from UK soil, is also expecting to receive its launch license soon.
The company confirmed to Shetland News that they are “currently looking at late September/early October for the inaugural launch.
When the space port officially opened in May this year, it was hoped RFA would be able to carry out its first launch in August.
Hammond was keen to stress that this would be a test flight and that everybody involved in the space industry was learning “as we go along”.
Spaceport chief executive Frank Strang said delays were inevitable as everything is being done for the first time.
“Delays will be down to paperwork and process which is inevitable, but everyone is working together.
“The regulator is both agnostic and supportive and I believe, like Scott said, the licence will be awarded in September [with a] launch as soon as possible after that.”
Meanwhile, it appears as if Lockheed Martin’s Pathfinder project, which was due to launch from SaxaVord next year, has suffered a major setback after the RS1 rocket, developed by ABL Space Systems, was irrecoverably damaged in a fire a few days ago.
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