Spaceports link up
October 22, 2024
Eight spaceports in six countries have signed a joint MoU to work together to address issues in the development and operation of their facilities. The signing took place on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress held last week in Milan.
“This partnership demonstrates our collective commitment to underscore the importance of spaceports, supporting their future, and enabling a new era of innovation, security and economic growth in the space industry,” said Roosevelt Mercer, head of the Virginia Spaceport Authority, which operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia, in his statement.
The MARS site, for example, hosts launches by companies like Northrop Grumman and Rocket Lab, while the other US spaceport to join, Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, has served small launch vehicle companies such as ABL Space Systems and Astra. Sweden’s Esrange Space Center has been a launch site for suborbital sounding rockets for decades and is preparing to host orbital launches.
The UK has two spaceports having signed the MoU. SaxaVord Spaceport and Sutherland Spaceport, are developing facilities with plans to host orbital launches as soon as 2025. The other three spaceports — Hokkaido Spaceport in Japan, Space Centre Australia and Stargate Peru — are still in early stages of development.
“By working together to establish standardised practices, we can enhance the resilience and responsiveness of launch systems,” said James Palmer, chief executive of Space Centre Australia, in his statement.
The MoU signing took place at the end of a meeting held at IAC hosted by the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Global Spaceport Alliance (GSA), an organisation of existing and proposed spaceports.
· Esrange Space Center, Swedish Space (Sweden)
· Hokkaido Spaceport, SPACE COTAN (Japan)
· Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (USA)
· Pacific Spaceport Complex-Alaska, Alaska Aerospace Corp (USA)
· SaxaVord Spaceport (Scotland, UK)
· Space Centre Australia (Australia)
· Stargate Peru (Peru)
· Sutherland Spaceport, Orbital Express Launch (Scotland, UK)
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