SaxaVord approved by UK’s CAA for 2025 launches
January 20, 2025
By Chris Forrester
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 :
- Project Kuiper beating OneWeb
- OQ Tech gets Luxembourg 5G-by-Sat concession
- Roskosmos: Heads roll, launch project scrapped
- MDA under pressure over satellite order
- SES backs C-band action from FCC
- Congested orbits mean high risks of debris
- SpaceX bids fairwell to booster 1076
- Bank: LBG Media results “in line”