UK takes on US to become major ‘space nation’ as plans for monthly rocket launches from Shetland Islands unveiled

THE UK could be hosting monthly rocket launches into space from the Shetland Islands as soon as summer.

German company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has announced that they are aiming to launch satellites into orbit this summer in a European first.

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The company has set its sights on the SaxaVord Spaceport, on the northernmost island of Unst, for its landmark launch.

But RFA won’t stop there, according to Jorn Spurmann, the company’s chief commercial officer.

Spurmann told the PA news agency the company has tabled plans to launch their 30metre tall RFA One rocket, with 1,300kg capacity, into a sun-synchronous orbit around Earth.

“We plan to be on pad in the summer and start the (testing) campaign,” he said.

“Then we have an anticipated first launch attempt and we see how it goes.

“We have on the Shetland Islands a dedicated launch pad purely for RFA. So, there’s no time pressure for us.”

The project, that has been years in the making, will be the company’s “Olympic gold medal” upon success.

The UK’s first orbital rocket launch could blast off from the Shetland islands in October or November this year.

It will also be a jewel following the UK’s efforts to carve out a European niche with its homegrown space industry and launch capabilities.

The UK’s part in the global space race

Analysis by Millie Turner, Technology & Science Reporter for The Sun

When private companies like SpaceX began lowering the cost of entry to orbit, it was like a gun shot for the new age space race.

From satellite communications to defence, space has become a focal part of the UK’s growth plans, and the global economy.

A report by the UK Space Agency and PwC last year revealed that the UK is the “most attractive destination” for space investment behind the US.

While it may look like the UK is squaring up to the US – a global leader in the space industry – the island nation is a small fish in an ever-widening pond.

The US has no closer ally than the UK, and the two nations have collaborated on space-related security efforts for decades.

In the global space race, the US and UK play contrasting roles.

Despite both nations being propelled by advancing scientific knowledge and capitalising on the commercial potential of space, their paths split significantly due to disparities in growth and resources.

The UK is yet to have its first vertical rocket launch, which is earmarked to take place in 2024.

While the first-ever UK-only made tool to land on Moon disintegrated along with the rest of the cargo onboard the failedPeregrine One.

The leading countries space exploration behind the US, are China, Japan, India and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) – the only nations that have ever successfully reached the Moon.

In the global space race, the UK is a fledgling.

But where the UK will really stake its claim on the sky is in Europe, which does not yet have a fully licensed vertical-launch spaceport in the west.

The company will first test the launch assembly in Germany and elsewhere, before shipping the rocket and its cargo satellites to Lerwick, ahead of a drive to Unst.

With a team of about 300 people, Spurmann said: “We do a full assembly and checkout testing in Augsburg.

“And then we put it into a dozen containers roughly.

“Then the final remating of these stages and encapsulation of the fairing, final testing – that all happens on site at the launch pad.”

Several months prior to launch, RFA will conduct a “hot test” of the rocket’s first-stage engines at the launch pad.

Local Unst residents, roughly 600 of them, are reportedly supportive of the project.

“The locals, they pretty much realise what a big opportunity it is for them,” Spurmann continued.

This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk