NEWPORT, Wales — The U.K. wants to become the first European country to host a commercial spaceport — but it is in a race against the clock.

The British government is determined to open a spaceport in the early 2020s and is funding different types of projects in Sutherland and Glasgow Prestwick, both in Scotland; Cornwall Airport Newquay in England, and Snowdonia in Wales.

“The U.K. space sector is thriving, and horizontal spaceflight is an exciting prospect which could provide services to our world-leading small satellite industry as well as international customers and space tourists,” said the U.K. Science Minister Chris Skidmore earlier this year.

However, competition is mushrooming all over Europe. To name but a few, Norway wants to launch rockets from Andøya in 2020; Sweden aims to start launches from Kiruna in 2022; Portugal intends to build a spaceport on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores; and plans are underway for another facility in Grottaglie, at the heel of the Italian boot.

While some partnerships aim to create facilities for vertical launches, others are trying to adapt existing commercial or military airports to enable aircraft attached to a rocket carrying a small satellite to take off. Some of these facilities could also be exploited for space tourism. Although the EU already has a spaceport in French Guyana for the launch of big rockets, these other projects aim to offer a more affordable solution for smaller satellites and space tourism, closer to home.

The British government’s commitment to spaceports is a significant plus for the U.K. space industry, which fears the loss of talent and access to procurement for EU projects.

“There is quite a bit of hype around these small spaceports that are being planned here in Europe,” said Matteo Tugnoli, a senior research fellow at the European Space Policy Institute in Vienna. “Overall it is a rather positive development because after several years of discussions and planning it seems we are reaching the moment when we will see the actual construction of a spaceport in one of these European countries.”

And being first will have significant advantages. According to Rainer Horn, managing partner at the Brussels-based consultancy firm SpaceTec Partners, not all the projects will prove viable in the long-term despite growing demand for these facilities. Whoever wins the race may be able to attract the investment and business activity needed to sustain the spaceport in the long run.

“On spaceports there is healthy competition bundled with some regional fantasy, both in the U.K. and in other parts of Europe. Regions in not-so-populated areas believe they need an industrial and/or touristic attraction. The projects that survive will contribute to affordable and competitive access to space for Europe.”

Tugnoli and Horn agreed it is too early to call a winner. Norway and Sweden have long-standing space operation centers and for decades funding rockets for prospective studies have been launched from there. These facilities could easily be extended and possibly adapted to include horizontal launches as well. Norway and the U.K. are considered serious players after putting in place regulation, although the Norwegians began the process earlier, said Horn.

The competition could nonetheless end with a surprise winner: Portugal. Its newly created national space agency — launched in March — is developing plans for a facility that could accommodate both vertical and horizontal launches. In June, the project received the backing of the European Space Agency, which will provide expertise and technical assistance. And in a further boost, ESA said that a new vehicle that it is developing, called Space Rider, could possibly use the Santa Maria facility. “Portugal has advanced quickly in the past year,” said Tugnoli.

The view in the UK

The British government’s commitment to spaceports is a significant plus for the U.K. space industry, which fears the loss of talent and access to European Commission procurement for EU projects. At the UK Space trade association's conference in Newport earlier this week, businesses representatives were upbeat about Britain’s progress.

“We’ve actually done quite a lot in the U.K.,” said Will Whitehorn, UK Space's new president and former president of Richard Branson’s spaceflight company Virgin Galactic. “I know there’s great will in the Royal Air Force on their ARTEMIS project with Virgin Orbit to get a launch out of Cornwall rather than somewhere else if they can.”

Whitehorn, who for many years was known as Branson’s right hand man and special adviser, said horizontal launches could start from Cornwall as early as 2021, the site chosen by Virgin Orbit and the Royal Air Force. Cornwall, as well as Glasgow Prestwick, already have long runways suitable for horizontal launches.

Sutherland could come next, with vertical launches starting in 2022, he added. American aerospace Lockheed Martin and the British aerospace company Orbex have been awarded funding from the UK Space Agency to develop the site and the necessary technology. The Highlands and Islands Enterprise is consulting on the plans, with a view to submit a planning proposal later this year.

Whitehorn admitted there’s crucial work to get done in the coming 18 months for those deadlines to be met.

Although the U.K. passed legislation in 2018 regulating future spaceports and launches, work to shape the U.K.’s future policies on liability for any damages is still ongoing, he said. More clarity is needed on the responsibilities delegated to the UK Space Agency and the Civil Aviation Authority.

“It is important that the [British] government thinks hard about what has happened in America: the delineation of responsibilities between NASA and the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration], the delineation of the science, the commercial, and the regulation in ways that are clearly understood,” he said.

Whitehorn also called for a more cohesive approach to supporting spaceport projects with public money. “We must not get into a piecemeal approach to this, it must be really well structured.”

According to David Southwood, a physicist at Imperial College London and former senior official at the UK Space Agency, the U.K. could succeed because it is providing the right environment for private companies to enter the launch game.

“At the minute we have a variety of companies taking on the challenge," he said, "I could not guarantee that all of those will be successful, and some are clearly longer-term projects, but when you have several horses in the race, one of them is almost certain to get through.”

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