{"id":36254,"date":"2023-11-13T17:11:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T16:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fb340e1d-4d33-4155-b134-a89e398d89bc"},"modified":"2023-11-13T17:46:13","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T16:46:13","slug":"this-hidden-scottish-spaceport-is-set-to-launch-an-explosive-new-satellite-race-if-the-sheep-stay-away","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/this-hidden-scottish-spaceport-is-set-to-launch-an-explosive-new-satellite-race-if-the-sheep-stay-away\/","title":{"rendered":"This hidden Scottish spaceport is set to launch an explosive new satellite race (if the sheep stay away)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Errant sheep, ancient relics, and space puns define this new spaceport in an unlikely rural setting. <\/p>

By Noa Leach\n <\/p>

Published: Monday, 13 November 2023 at 16:11 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Forget the clean, Hollywood vision of space exploration \u2013 or even the tropical launch sites of European missions. Instead, think luscious fields. Think heavy-lidded highland sheep. Think surprise burial sites. Because satellite launches? They\u2019re about to go Scottish.<\/p>

A series of new launchpads in Shetland, at Scotland\u2019s northern tip, is forcing everyone to reimagine space centres. The SaxaVord Spaceport is the brainchild of wife and husband team Debbie and Frank Strang (the former RAF officers are chief operating officer and CEO of the company, respectively).<\/p>

Instead of sloths stealing the show, as one did during the Jupiter Icy moons Explorer (JUICE)<\/a> mission launch, SaxaVord will have to keep an eye on errant sheep. That\u2019s according to astronaut trainer Mike Mongo<\/a> who is working with SaxaVord to educate schools on space programmes in the UK.<\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to keep an eye on the sheep \u2013 as well as errant backpackers and hikers,\u201d quips Mongo in conversation with BBC Science Focus<\/em>.<\/p>

Mongo and the Strangs plan to initiate launch traditions at their Scottish base. As well as SaxaVord, the Strangs own a gin company on Shetland and are hoping to create a new space-themed cocktail to celebrate each launch. One of the first will be the Buzz Ald-gin.<\/p>

Mongo, meanwhile will be wearing space socks \u2013 which he\u2019ll never wear again if the launch fails.<\/p>

\u201cIf I go to a launch and the launch doesn’t go off, I never wear those socks again,\u201d Mongo tells BBC Science Focus<\/em>. \u201cThey’re done \u2013 they’re retired.\u201d<\/p>

Mongo, who says he wears his glasses upside down to get attention from people glued to phones, is a perfect fit for the spaceport. – Photo credit: Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Getting ready for the first launch<\/strong><\/h2>

But even though Mongo will be wearing his \u201cbest socks\u201d to SaxaVord\u2019s first launch, Frank Strang, SaxaVord\u2019s CEO, anticipates their first rocket will blow up<\/a>.<\/p>

\u201cFrank has a tendency to say things quite directly,\u201d Debbie says in response to this, \u201cwhich is great, because it’s his focus, his passion, and his determination that is absolutely leading the way and is why we will succeed.\u201d<\/p>

In fact, Debbie not only agrees,\u00ad\u00ad but hopes<\/em> the rocket will explode so that they can learn by error. (Such explosions, like that of Elon Musk\u2019s Starship<\/a> earlier this year, are considered \u201cvictories\u201d, according to Mongo. The days of what Debbie calls \u201cold space\u201d, when agencies could sit down and design rockets for years to avoid these explosions, are over \u2013 apparently).<\/p>

So it\u2019s lucky that SaxaVord won\u2019t be launching humans. At least not at first.<\/p>

SaxaVord spaceport: A first for Europe<\/h2>

When Mongo \u2013 who is American \u2013 tells his compatriots about the upcoming launch facility in Scotland, he says people think he\u2019s mad.<\/p>

\u201cIn the US, space is part of the terrain and the culture,\u201d Mongo says. \u201cBut when I got to the UK, the response I got was absolute scepticism. [People say] \u2018What are you talking about? We don\u2019t have a spaceport.'”<\/p>

Yet SaxaVord has planning permission for three launchpads which are scheduled to be completed by the end of November. The first suborbital launch \u2013 one that goes into space but returns to Earth via the same path \u2013 is planned for this December.<\/p>

But it\u2019s the orbital launch \u2013 which aims to send a small craft around the Earth at least once before returning \u2013 that everyone\u2019s excited about.<\/p>

If on time and successful, this launch is likely to be Europe\u2019s first vertical launch in summer 2024. Vertical launches send satellites into polar orbit, meaning their direction of travel runs perpendicular to equatorial (or \u2018horizontal\u2019) orbits.<\/p>

While it may not be French Guiana, SaxaVord\u2019s Scottish location is ideal for this special type of launch. Horizontal launches may be cheaper, but they require equatorial spaceport locations.<\/p>

Vertical launches, meanwhile, are rarer, meaning they can provide new information and data. They also synchronise with the Sun<\/a>, reducing the amount of shadow on the images they take.<\/p>

All that\u2019s left before this can take place on Shetland is the spaceport license that will allow SaxaVord to launch a small satellite. (Debbie Strang is confident they will beat Sweden and Norway to it).<\/p>

From Bronze Age to space age<\/strong><\/h2>

So far, the only interruption to development has been the discovery of a Bronze Age burial site. In true Scottish fashion, this has been dubbed a success by SaxaVord. \u201cWhich other spaceport has its own Bronze Age burial site?\u201d says Debbie Strang gleefully.<\/p>

With the past and future occupying the same spot, Debbie Strang thinks there may be more treasures yet to be uncovered: \u201cWe\u2019re still waiting on the archaeologists to say whether that might be possible \u2026 and if it can be accommodated of course we\u2019re going to do that, because it just adds to the whole story.\u201d<\/p>

It\u2019s a symbol of \u201cwhere we were and where we\u2019re going\u201d to Mongo. For him, space exploration set against a backdrop of fields and sheep is another vision of the future \u2013 given SaxaVord\u2019s interest in sustainability.<\/p>

\u201cWe’re not building the space program we built in the 1950s and 1960s,\u201d he says. \u201cWe’re building a space future along with all the information we have about climate, sustainability, making the world and a future worth having.\u201d<\/p>

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