Sutherland's space race relaunches as spaceport moves to public hands
Sutherland Spaceport is now the first in the UK to be in public ownership
A vision to bring the space industry to the far north of the Scottish mainland has been relaunched after an abandoned spaceport was taken into public ownership.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise has purchased the Sutherland Spaceport after owners Orbex - once the front runner to launch the first rocket from Scottish soil - collapsed last year.
The development was a major blow to optimism felt in Sutherland over the area’s future role in the country’s burgeoning space industry, which was poised to create around 40 jobs and critical economic growth in a highly-depopulated part of the country.
But such optimism has returned after HiE bought the assets from the liquidated Sutherland Spaceport Ltd, an Orbex subsidiary.
It means that Sutherland now has the first publicly-owned spaceport in the UK, with hopes that the site could generate benefits greater than first envisaged given the rapidly moving technology and possibilities - such as in-space manufacturing - now seized by an ever-growing list of companies hoping to capitalize on the potential of space.
David Oxley, Director of Strategic Projects at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said; What we are seeing at the moment is lots of demand for users of the spaceport, including launch companies who want to launch orbitally or sub-orbitally as well as companies who want to do everything from drones to full orbital launches and everything in between.
“And all of those things require different infrastructure.
“There is definitely lots of interest from lots of companies in launching from the north of Scotland.
“We could be seeing not just spaceport jobs but wider space industry jobs coming to the area.”
Mr Oxley said there was a “national opportunity” for a space launch that the north of Scotland was “uniquely well-placed to develop”.
He added: “The geography plays to our advantage. We wanted to make sure that opportunity didn’t go away, so we took the opportunity to regain full control at Sutherland and we’ll look at options and progress once we have considered them properly,” he added.
The drive now on to get “proper market intellingence” and engage with the community and the market to insure the opportunities presented by the spaceport were fully understood in the fast moving industry.
He added: : The big caveat is that these space companies are often early stage, pre revenue, and need a lot of support from investors so we have seen a number of failures in the sector, Orbex being the prime one in Scotland.
“It is rocket science - these are not easy things to do.”
At present, the site on the A’Mhoine peninsula consists of a road around a mile-and-a-half long, a launch pad and a hardstanding, with the spaceport wired for power and communications.
Mr Oxley added: “There will be investment required to do anything. Operating a spaceport requires specialist skills so we will probably at some point go out to tender for an operator.
“Development will probably come in stages. We could potentially build what is needed for sub-orbital and then later build what is needed for orbital and do it as a phased approach.
“Nothing is decided yet, but that is the most likely scenario at present. We would need to spend a relatively small amount to get to the first stage and a larger investment to get to a fully operational space port, so I can envisage that sourcing that investment is going to be a priority.
“Consultation with the local community will also be important. The whole reason we as a development agency are involved in the space sector is because of its potential to deliver economic and community benefits, including skilled jobs and manufacturing, research and supply chain opportunities.”
Developments at Sutherland come as SaxaVord on Unst, Shetland, the first fully-licensed vertical launch spaceport in the UK, received £30m in UK Space Agency funding last week to design and build a second hangar and two more launch pads.
The investment is set to unlock a further £30m of private investment.
Chief executive officer Scott Hammond said the funding would take the company to the next stage of its development.
"We are building the spaceport for the thousandth as much as the first launch," he said.
A highly-anticipated first launch from SaxaVord this summer was postponed after German manufacturer RFA decided to “destack” its 30-metre tall rocket from the launchpad after an issue was detected within the vehicle. It follows an earlier RFA test in 2024 which was abandoned following a “very unusual” fire in a turbopump.
No new date has been given for the RFA launch, which was due to take satellites into space from UK soil for the first time.
Meanwhile, fellow German firm HyImpulse is preparing to launch its SL1 orbital vehicle from the site by the end of the year, it is understood.
Mr Oxley said it was not the aim to put Sutherland into direct competition with SaxaVord but to find other opportunities within the space industry.
Mr Oxley said: “SaxaVord have got ahead of the game, got an opportunity and they are doing well. We are very supportive of them getting their first launch away, which would be a major achievement.”
Sutherland Spaceport was built on land owned by Mellness Crofters Estate, with the lease for the site now part of the assets bought by Highlands and Islands Enterprise following the collapse of Orbex. The company had started to develop the site in tandem with the manufacture of its first rockets.
The long battle to win approval for the Sutherland site came following an unsuccessful 2021 court challenge by Anders Holch Povlsen, the Danish fashion tycoon and Scotland’s largest landowner, who owns a number of estates and hospitality retreats in Sutherland.
Mr Povlsen’s company WildLand is now the major shareholder in SaxaVord.
Dorothy Pritchard, of the Mellness Crofters Estate: said: “We feel very positive that Sutherland Spaceport is back in control of HiE and we are glad to work with them.
“To me it is about who is really on board with what our aims are.
“After a bit of a difficult spell , I think this is the best outcome. It has been a long slog, but we are very resilient.”
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