UK grants licence to send first rocket into space from Shetland Islands

[Still Waters]

The UK has granted permission to send the first rocket into space from the Shetland Islands to a German startup that plans to launch a craft as early as this year.

Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said on Thursday it had awarded the vertical launch licence to Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) to take off from SaxaVord spaceport in the archipelago 50 miles (80km) north of Scotland’s mainland.

If successful, RFA would join the private-sector space race as the first company in Europe to carry out a vertical launch into orbit. The licence allows the launch of its 30-metre tall RFA One rocket northwards from the island of Unst, away from populated areas.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/16/uk-grants-licence-for-startup-to-send-rocket-into-space-from-shetland-islands

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[Still Waters]

The UK's new spaceport in Shetland will be ready for satellite launches by July, MPs have been told.

A number of companies plan to use SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst, the northernmost point in the UK, as a launch site for commercial rockets.

Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), from Germany, is thought to have the most advanced plans and it was officially licensed for spaceflight by the regulator last month.

During an RFA launch test, a rocket engine exploded at the spaceport in August. The company said no one was injured and the launch pad had been "saved and is secured".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr531z0rjzmo