Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The spaceport site is on the A' Mhoine Peninsula in Sutherland
- Published12 minutes ago
A rockets manufacturer says the mothballed Sutherland Spaceport could become its first launch site outside the US.
Colorado-based Leap has agreed to work with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which owns the area of peatland near Tongue, to develop the plans.
Little work has been done at the site after Moray-headquartered rockets firm Orbex put construction on hold in 2024. The company later collapsed and its assets were sold off.
Leap said the spaceport could potentially be used for launching small satellites for customers in the UK and mainland Europe.
Leap is designing rockets that could be mass produced in factories.
Chief executive Chris Beckman said: "We're not just building a rocket. We're building a global logistics network, and a network needs launch sites wherever customers require them.
"Sutherland is an ideal starting point for a network that begins in Europe, and HIE shares our ambition to make recurring spaceflight from Scotland real."
HIE and Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn have welcomed the agreement.
The site is on Melness Crofters Estate, an area of small-scale farms on the A' Mhoine Peninsula in Sutherland in the north-west Highlands.
Chairwoman Dorothy Pritchard said the estate was delighted to welcome Leap as a potential launch operator.
She said: "We believe their presence here will be an important step towards establishing a thriving and sustainable spaceport that can bring long-term benefits to Sutherland and the UK's growing space industry.
"Alongside other UK launch sites, both developed and emerging, an operational Sutherland Spaceport will become an integral part of a resilient and diverse UK launch ecosystem, securing the UK position within the global space economy, something we welcome and support.
"Melness Crofters Estate looks forward to seeing the spaceport become a driver of economic opportunity."
The Scottish spaceport stuck in limbo
- Published17 December 2024
Last month, the UK and German governments said they planned to use another Scottish spaceport - SaxaVord in Shetland - as part of increased co-operation between the two countries.
The agreement followed a meeting between Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin last week.
In a joint statement, the two governments said they would deepen strategic co-operation on civil, commercial, security and defence interests in space.
SaxaVord in Unst is the UK's first fully-licensed spaceport and has regulatory approval for up to 30 rocket launches a year.
