The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted a vertical launch licence to Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), a German rocket company to use the SaxaVord launch site in Scotland.

“This is a new era for aerospace and granting the first vertical launch licence from UK soil builds towards a historic milestone for the nation,” the CAA’s chief executive, Rob Bishton, said.

SaxaVord is on the Shetland Island of Unst, a former RAF base. The licence covers up to ten launches per annum. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit attempted horizontal launches from a spaceport in Newquay, Cornwall.

The new SaxaVord licence is for a vertical, conventional rocket launch as distinct from horizontal launches from an aircraft.

This is a major achievement for SaxaVord (and RFA) as no rocket of any significant size has ever been launched from European soil. However, the Esrange Space Centre in Sweden and Andoya Space in Norway are hoping to beat SaxaVord in the race for Europe’s first orbital launch.

The chief commercial officer of RFA, Jörn Spurmann, said: “This is a groundbreaking moment for Rocket Factory Augsburg and for Europe’s space industry. Securing the first-ever launch licence outside ESA’s established site in Kourou is not just a regulatory milestone — it’s a powerful endorsement of our technical excellence and a turning point for European space innovation.”

Other posts by :

1. Forecast: SpaceX tracking to $20bn revenue in 2026
2. EchoStar’s Dish restructures debt obligations
3. AsiaSat hits Zee and JioStar with legal actions
4. Nvidia unveils orbital chip/computer for AI and data
5. Space Sector: ‘Profound Acceleration in 2026’
6. Starcloud wants 88,000 satellites
7. Lynk Global requests “experimental” satellite access
8. Safran Space links laser direct to satellite
9. SpaceX fearful of AST SpaceMobile’s potential?

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Satellite

Tags: satellite, SaxaVord, scotland