Scottish launch startup Orbex has announced that it is moving forward with plans to build and operate its own vertical launch site.
The company signed a lease with the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for the spaceport location on community-owned land on the A’ Mhoine peninsula in northwest Sutherland.
HIE began developing plans for the Sutherland spaceport in 2018 with the backing of the UK Space Agency. Since then, the development agency has secured planning permission from both the Highland Council and the Scottish Land Court, giving it the green light to begin construction.
Orbex has signed a sublease with HIE and will take over the project, proceeding with the construction. The lease will run for 50 years, with an option for a 25-year extension.
“Orbex is the first European launcher company to also manage a dedicated spaceport,” said Orbex CEO Chris Larmour. “It is an important competitive advantage to the company, which will make it really easy for us to work with customers as we scale up our operations.”
The role of prime construction contractor will be assumed by Jacobs on behalf of Orbex. The global technology solutions company is NASA’s largest services provider and has experience managing and operating Cape Canaveral, one of the most utilized orbital launch facilities in the world.
Jacobs, however, is not just a contractor. The company was part of the recent Orbex funding round that saw the launch startup secure £40.4 million (approximately €46.5 million) in Series C funding. At the time, Orbex stated that the funds would support “future projects” in addition to accelerating the development of Prime, the company’s two-stage launch vehicle. This is clearly one of those “future projects.”
According to Orbex, the project will see the launch startup invest up to £20 million over an initial three-year period. The 10-acre launch site will become the long-term “home” spaceport of Orbex and will see the launch of up to 12 Prime launch vehicles per year. However, the site may also be opened for other launch providers.
“Orbex has been part of the spaceport consortium since its inception and the facility has been designed with the Orbex Prime rocket in mind,” said Orbex. “However, the spaceport will also be able to offer capacity to others who can meet the relevant size/safety/operational criteria. We will be publishing more details in due course.”
Until then, we’ll be waiting patiently for the bulldozers to arrive in Sutherland.
