Construction has resumed after a delay caused by lack of funding
The UK plans to allocate £10,000,000 for the construction and financing of the SaxaVord spaceport in Scotland. This spaceport, located on the island of Unst, expects its first orbital launch at the end of this year.
Construction of the cosmodrome began in March 2022, but due to financial difficulties at the construction company, it was suspended in mid-2023. Only a few small phases of construction work continued in the second half of last year, but it was not until early 2024 that the company managed to obtain sufficient financing to pay debts.
The UK government's pledge to fund the development of the spaceport was made during Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's budget speech on March 6th. However, despite this announcement, funding has not yet been transferred. Minister for Science, Research and Innovation Andrew Griffith confirmed that the release of funds will be subject to a full review.
The SaxaVord spaceport will have three launch pads, one of which has already been reserved for use by the German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg. At the end of last year, the cosmodrome received an official license allowing up to 30 launches annually.
Initially it was planned that the HyImpulse SR75 rocket would be the first to be launched into a suborbital flight from the cosmodrome. But due to construction delays, the German company will be forced to use a spare launcher. The first spacecraft to launch from the completed spaceport is now expected to be the ONE rocket from German startup Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), expected to launch this year.