What's happened
Orbex has announced a pause in the development of the Sutherland Spaceport in Scotland, redirecting its efforts to the SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands. This decision follows significant public investment and raises concerns about the future of local jobs and economic benefits. Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic explores operations in Italy.
Why it matters
What the papers say
According to The Independent, Orbex's decision to pause development at Sutherland has sparked concerns among local politicians about the future of public investment and job creation. Labour's Rhoda Grant emphasized the economic benefits the spaceport was expected to bring to the region. Meanwhile, Ars Technica reported that Virgin Galactic is considering launching from Italy, which could signify a strategic pivot for the company as it seeks to recover from recent challenges. This juxtaposition highlights the varying fortunes of space companies in the current market landscape.
How we got here
Orbex received £14.6 million in public investment for the Sutherland Spaceport, which was intended to support satellite launches. However, the company has shifted focus to SaxaVord Spaceport, citing a need to concentrate on rocket development rather than spaceport construction.
More on these topics
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Orbital Express Launch Ltd., or Orbex, is a UK-based aerospace company that is developing a small commercial orbital rocket called Prime. Orbex is headquartered in Forres, Moray, in Scotland and has subsidiaries in Denmark and Germany.
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Rhoda Grant is a Scottish politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands region since 2007, having previously represented the same region from 1999 to 2003.
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The Scottish Government is the devolved government of Scotland.
The government is led by the First Minister, who selects the Cabinet Secretaries, who attend Cabinet, and Ministers with the approval of Parliament.
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John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician serving as Deputy First Minister of Scotland since 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2016.
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The Sutherland spaceport, also known as Space Hub Sutherland or UKVL Sutherland, is planned to be the first spaceport of the United Kingdom. It would be operated by a commercial entity and would employ 40 people. The spaceport will host a launch vehicle c
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The Shetland Space Centre is a planned spaceport to be located on the Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands. The proposed site is near the RAF Saxa Vord radar station and the settlement of Skaw.
It would be used by Lockh
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Virgin Galactic is a British spaceflight company within the Virgin Group. It is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists and suborbital launches for space science missions.
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Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California.