The United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority has granted its first vertical launch spaceport licence to SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland.
SaxaVord initially submitted its spaceport licence application to the CAA in March 2022. On 17 December, the CAA announced that SaxaVord’s application had been approved.
“SaxaVord has been assessed by the space regulator to verify that appropriate safety, security, and environmental criteria are met to operate a spaceport, and that it has the suitable infrastructure, equipment, and services to accommodate vertical space launches,” explained a CAA statement.
The licence permits SaxaVord to host up to 30 launches per year. The company has signed agreements with a number of launch providers, including Rocket Factory Augsburg, HyImpulse, Latitude, Astra, ABL Space Systems, and Skyrora. Currently, it appears that Rocket Factory Augsburg will be the first to launch from the newly licensed facility, with the company expected to conduct the maiden flight of its RFA ONE vehicle from SaxaVord in 2024.
Although SaxaVord is the first vertical launch facility in the UK to receive a CAA spaceport licence, Spaceport Cornwall was the first to be granted a spaceport licence with the facility hosting vertically launched vehicles. Since receiving its licence in February, Cornwall has hosted a single failed Virgin Orbit LauncherOne flight just prior to the launch provider going out of business. There are currently no future launches from the facility planned.
With a strong roster of confirmed launch providers, SaxaVord is looking to become the first UK-based launch facility to host a successful flight and to build a sustainable business. The first challenge will, however, be to complete the facility’s initial infrastructure.
To date, the company has completed the facility’s first launch pad and launch stool, the structure of the integration building, and a number of key infrastructure projects like roads. However, it is still not at a point where it would be able to host a launch. The facility was meant to host the debut of the suborbital HyImpulse SR75 vehicle as its maiden launch utilizing a UK-Space-Agency-sponsored launch rail. However, the German launch startup announced in November that it would be conducting the mission from the Southern Launch Koonibba Test Range in Australia instead because SaxaVord would not be ready in time.
