Lockheed Martin to assist UK in developing vertical launch spaceport in Scotland

A long-awaited announcement on the location of a British spaceport states that a facility for vertical launch vehicles – in other words, rockets – is to be built on the A’Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland, on Scotland's north coast. At the opening of Farnborough Airshow, business secretary Greg Clark announced that Lockheed Martin will be closely involved in the development of the site.

The government is awarding the Highlands and Islands Development Agency £2.5 million towards developing the Sutherland site, while a further £2 million from a £50 million UK spaceflight programme will go towards developing proposed horizontal launch sites in Cornwall, Prestwick and Snowdonia. Additional grants will be awarded during Farnborough to help commercial operators develop more strategies for Sutherland.

“As a nation of innovators and entrepreneurs, we want Britain to be the first place in mainland Europe to launch satellites as part of our Industrial Strategy," said Clark. "The UK’s thriving space industry, research community and aerospace supply chain put the UK in a leading position to develop both vertical and horizontal launch sites.” The first launches from the site could be in the 2020s.