The UK government has promised to allocate £10 million ($12.74 million) to finance the SaxaVord spaceport in Scotland, the first orbital launch from which is planned for this year.
Construction of the spaceport on the small island of Unst off the coast of Scotland began in March 2022, but was suspended in mid-2023 due to financial problems. Construction work continued partially into the second half of the year, but it was not until early 2024 that sufficient funding was received to pay the bills.
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt made a promise to invest £10 million in the spaceport during his speech on March 6. Despite this promise, the funds have not yet been paid. Deputy Minister for Science, Research and Innovation Andrew Griffith explained on social network X that the money will be transferred “subject to due diligence.”
Upon completion, SaxaVord will have three launch pads, one of which has been exclusively reserved by German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg. At the end of last year, the cosmodrome received a license that gives it the ability to conduct up to 30 launches per year. The first launch was supposed to be a suborbital flight of the HyImpulse SR75 rocket, but when construction of SaxaVord was suspended, the German startup decided to use the services of another partner. Now, as expected, the first rocket will be RFA ONE – this year.
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