Scotland’s SaxaVord spaceport close to approval
March 14, 2022
By Chris Forrester
On the heels of last week’s planning approval Scotland’s SaxaVord (at Unst in the Shetland isles) spaceport has now applied to the aviation regulator for an operating licence.
SaxaVord says it has formally submitted its Spaceport and Range Licence applications this week to the industry regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Once regulatory approval has been granted, Westminster and the Scottish Holyrood parliament will be one step closer to achieving their ambition of orbital launch from the UK by the end of this year.
Frank Strang, CEO of SaxaVord Spaceport, said: “Our operations team have been working extremely hard on multiple fronts over the last two years to ensure that all the pieces of a very complicated jigsaw were prepared so we could hit the ground running as we started the year. Our licence applications mark the next milestone in our ambition to become the first orbital launch site in the UK. Our applications will now be assessed and evaluated by the CAA, a process which will take at least six months. The beginning of 2022 has already been significant for our team and for Shetland, with the approval of our planning permission. I am confident that the end of the year will be equally momentous for us and the UK vertical launch industry.”