Airport rescued by Nicola Sturgeon set to become satellite spaceport
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Prestwick airport is set to become a spaceport after striking a deal for "horitzontal" satellite launches.
The loss-making airport, nationalised by Nicola Sturgeon in a rescue deal in 2013, has signed a memorandum of understanding with British rocket company Astraius.
The deal puts the Scottish airport, which was bought by Transport Scotland for just £1, back on the map in Britain's space race.
Virgin Orbit, Sir Richard Branson’s company that launches rockets from the wings of Boeing 747s, is hoping to conduct rocket launches from the UK early next year.
Astraius uses former military cargo planes such as the C-17 to fly rockets to high altitude before ejecting them and sending them blasting into low-earth orbit.
It is just one company hoping its cheap alternative to regular rocket launches can provide a rival flexible system to Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The space port will seek to take advantage of Glasgow’s booming satellite manufacturing industry.
South Ayrshire council secured £80m to expand Prestwick’s aerospace hub, as part of a wider £250m investment into the region. Prestwick's first commercial rocket launches will take place from 2023.
The Scottish government’s stewardship of Prestwick has been criticised by opposition MPs at Holyrood after it spent £43m on the Glasgow airport while struggling to turn a profit.
Use as a refuelling site by the US Air Force failed to make up the shortfall and attempts to sell it to an investment consortium failed.
However, it could now find itself as an outlet for Britain’s hopes for a rocket launch site.
Scotland’s business minister, Ivan McKee, said the agreement with Astraius was a major step towards turning Prestwick into a space port.
“Our ambition is for Scotland to be Europe’s leading space nation and to have a £4bn share of the global space market by 2030, whilst developing launch capability – both vertical and horizontal – to serve small satellite producers. The announcement today brings us a step closer to achieving our ambition and proves once again the versatility and dynamism of the Scottish space sector.”
Kevin Seymour, chief executive of Astraius, said: “This is an important milestone for both Astraius and Prestwick Spaceport and will add to the development of a vibrant space sector for Scotland and the UK.”
