New funding announced for horizontal-launch spaceport study

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The Launch UK development fund will allow prospective sites for spaceplane launch to apply for a share of a £2m fund, science minister Chris Skidmore announced yesterday. Several sites are already working on plans for horizontal spaceplane launch, capitalising on the development of the SABRE engine by Oxfordshire-based Reaction Engines, and the proposed Skylon single-stage-to-orbit aircraft the engine would power. Sites include Newquay in Cornwall, Campbelltown and Glasgow Prestwick in Scotland, and Snowdonia in Wales.

The UK Space Agency has opened the fund, which is aimed to enable research into the market opportunities offered by horizontal space flight technologies. Organisations receiving the grant can use such research to develop an individual business case for offering horizontal launch services from the UK in the early 2020s.

"This new fund will help develop ambitious proposals to enable spaceplanes and aircraft capable of deploying satellites to operate from future UK spaceports, as part of the government’s modern industrial Strategy," Skidmore said.