UK Spaceports – Making British Spaceflight History

Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and Cape Canaveral in the United States are two of the most used spaceports around the world. Crewed and cargo capsules headed to the International Space Station along with notable missions like Apollo 11 have launched into space from these sites.  

Although the UK has already built and sent rockets into space, they’ve either been oversea launches or sounding (research) rockets that have only reached sub-orbital flight. But that is set to change with the development of spaceports across the UK from where satellites will be launched into Earth orbit. 

What is a Spaceport?

Alike to an airport being a place for aircraft to take off or land, and a seaport being a site for sea vessels to arrive or leave a destination, spaceports are a base from which spacecraft are launched (and sometimes landed). They’re also known as cosmodromes. 

Changes to UK regulations in May 2021 meant that the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) could begin issuing licenses to spaceports across the nation. If suitable infrastructure, equipment, and services for running a spaceport are demonstrated by individuals or an organisation, then licenses to operate a site that allows a spacecraft to launch from them (and land in a controlled manner) can be awarded.  

But UK spaceports aren’t going to be on the scale of the Kennedy Space Centre in the United States with huge rocket launches – UK spaceports will be focused on launching small satellites into space. Sub-orbital flights to the edge of space for people may become a possibility down the line with the rise of space tourism. 

UK Spaceport Locations

There are seven proposed spaceport locations in the UK, with five of those being based in Scotland.  

• Shetland, Scotland – Saxavord Spaceport (vertical launch) 
• Sutherland, Scotland – Space Hub Sutherland (vertical launch) 
• Western Isles, Scotland – Spaceport 1 (vertical launch) 
• Campbeltown, Scotland – Spaceport Machrihanish (horizontal launch) 
• Prestwick, Scotland – Prestwick Spaceport (horizontal launch) 
• Snowdonia, Wales – Spaceport Snowdonia (horizontal launch) 
• Newquay, England – Spaceport Cornwall (horizontal launch) 

Spaceport locations are carefully planned – they need to be as far as possible from inhabited areas in case a launch goes wrong but it also helps if they’re in areas with good transport infrastructure to allow for easy access.  

The UK is the most appealing destination for spaceports in Europe. It is already a world leader in satellite manufacturing, its long coastline and geography provide numerous suitable spaceport locations, and it’s the first country in Europe with new spaceflight laws that will allow launches from 2022. 

The development of spaceports across the country will help achieve the wider government plan of trying to capture 10% of the worldwide space market by 2030. The number of small satellites being sent into space is on the increase and the northern latitude of the UK makes it a global launch destination for those needing a polar orbit or sun-synchronous orbit (a particular type of polar orbit in which a satellite is synchronised to be in the same position relative to the Sun). To position into an orbit that passes over the polar regions, rockets must overcome the boost provided by the Earth’s daily spin, which is smaller the further you are from the equator. 

Vertical vs Horizontal Launch

When we think of a space launch, most of us think of a rocket lifting off vertically, but spaceports can be licensed for vertical or horizontal launches, or even both! 

A vertical launch involves a rocket that takes off standing upright. Larger rockets may have two or three stages, each of which carry fuel and fall away once it’s used up. 

A horizontal or air launch typically uses an aircraft that carries a rocket under its wing. So, spaceports may also include a runway to support this and other spacecraft operations. Once the aircraft has taken off and is in flight, the launch vehicle underneath takes off into space from the air. Virgin Orbit’s rocket launch system will enable such horizontal launches which they plan to conduct from Spaceport Cornwall.  

Seeing a UK Space Launch

Because horizontal launches will use an aircraft that will carry a rocket away from the launch site for it to then take off from high altitude, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to see much by the time the rocket launches. No doubt there will still be much excitement on the ground as the aircraft takes off in anticipation of the rocket launch which would follow shortly after. 

As for vertical launches, it would be possible to see rockets launching upwards from the ground if you were near the spaceport, and you would probably hear and feel the rumble of the launch due to the explosive energy that is released from the rocket as it takes off. 

The UK space sector is thriving and growing. Many home-grown companies are already building satellites, rockets, and instruments like cameras and detectors that have been placed on big space missions and projects. There are also numerous research groups analysing and using data returned from satellites and space probes too.  

Launch capability through spaceports in the UK is an untapped market, but 2022 is set to be the year where that changes. How incredible it would be to see the first ever orbital space launch from home soil; marking Britain as a considerable contender in space activities worldwide.