{"id":62686,"date":"2024-08-21T13:40:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T13:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/06776176-beab-45a5-993b-02e6725d9d7d"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:41:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T14:41:03","slug":"launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch pad engulfed in flames as rocket explodes during test at UK\u2019s SaxaVord spaceport"},"content":{"rendered":"

An anomaly during a test-fire at the Saxavord Spaceport resulted in the rocket exploding, though all humans escaped harm <\/p>

By Ezzy Pearson\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 21 August 2024 at 13:40 PM<\/p>

\n\n

A rocket engine exploded during a test fire at new UK spaceport, SaxaVord<\/a> in Shetland, Scotland, on 19 August.<\/p>

The explosion was caused by an as yet unknown \u2018anomaly\u2019 during a nine-engine hot-fire test \u2013 where a fully integrated rocket is held in position while it fires all its engines \u2013 of a rocket built by German spaceflight company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA)<\/a>.<\/p>

<\/p>In accordance with safety protocols, the site had been evacuated prior to the test.<\/p>\u201cNo one was injured in the process,\u201d said RFA in a statement released after the explosion. \u201cThe launchpad has been saved and is secured, the situation is under control, and any immediate danger has been mitigated.\u201d<\/p>As of writing, the cause of the anomaly was still to be determined<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-saxavord-the-scottish-spaceport\">SaxaVord, the Scottish spaceport<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The launchpad under construction on the Shetland island of Unst.<\/figcaption><\/figure>SaxaVord is a vertical launch spaceport located on the remote Scottish island of Unst, built on the site of a former RAF radar station.<\/p>In December 2023, the site was granted a licence to host up to 30 launches a year, making it the first fully licensed vertical launch spaceport in Western Europe.<\/p>The site is part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/news\/new-laws-start-exciting-era-for-uk-space-industry\">UK government’s efforts to grow space industry<\/a>, helping to grow this burgeoning industry.<\/p>There is another spaceport in the UK, Spaceport Cornwall located at Newquay Airport, however this is only able to host horizontal launches.<\/p>This sister site has had its own share of troubles, as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/news\/first-uk-launch-fails\">first launch from Spaceport Cornwall<\/a> in January 2023 resulted in a premature shut down of the rocket. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"674\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/01\/spaceport-cornwall-virgin-orbit-plane-a7943eb-e1673254057555.jpeg\" alt=\"A Virgin Orbit Jumbo jet infront of a hanger labeled Spaceport Cornwall.\" class=\"wp-image-114942\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Spaceport Cornwall is set up for horizontal launches, meaning those that take off either with the help of a traditional plane, or with the help of one. Credit: Spaceport Cornwall<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-rocket-tests-at-saxavord-spaceport\">Rocket tests at Saxavord spaceport<\/h2>In the case of SaxaVord, however, such failures are not unexpected, as the facility is not only a launch site, but a place where growing spaceflight companies can assess their new hardware extensive testing campaign needed before launch.<\/p>\u201cThese tests are designed to identify faults and issues prior to a full test flight campaign and are all carried out in a highly controlled and regulated environment,\u201d said Frank Strang, SaxaVord spaceport\u2019s CEO, in a statement after the rocket exploded.<\/p>While many of these tests are conducted with little incident, occasionally they uncover an issue. Sometimes, as was the case here, these issues have explosive consequences.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1252014025-1.jpg\" alt=\"A cloud left by an exploding spacecraft. Fire burns at the core.\" class=\"wp-image-160642\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">SpaceX’s Starship exploded after launch during its first test flight on 20 April 2023 – Credit: Patrick T. Fallon\/AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\u201cSpace is a high risk\/ high reward sector and there will be lots of highs and lows in all our journeys,\u201d said Strang. \u201cThis anomaly was inevitable and there will be more. As long as we do our jobs to the best of our ability then they will be resolved, we will all learn and SaxaVod Spaceport and the space economy will grow.<\/p>\u201cFollowers of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacex.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SpaceX<\/a> will know that in their early days they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/news\/spacex-starship-integrated-flight-test\">had several \u2018moments\u2019<\/a> resulting in damage to both launch pads and launch vehicles but now with over 90 launches last year they have proven that space transportation is as reliable and safe as any other form of transport.\u201d<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An anomaly during a test-fire at the Saxavord Spaceport resulted in the rocket exploding, though all humans escaped harm <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":62687,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/08\/launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport.jpg",2560,1237,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/08\/launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/08\/launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport-300x145.jpg",300,145,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/08\/launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport-768x371.jpg",768,371,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/08\/launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport-1024x495.jpg",800,387,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/08\/launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport-1536x742.jpg",1536,742,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/08\/launch-pad-engulfed-in-flames-as-rocket-explodes-during-test-at-uks-saxavord-spaceport-2048x990.jpg",2048,990,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"An anomaly during a test-fire at the Saxavord Spaceport resulted in the rocket exploding, though all humans escaped harm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/62686"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}