Rocket company granted 50-year lease for Sutherland spaceport

The company which will launch rockets from the spaceport being built in Sutherland has been granted a 50-year lease for the facility.

Orbex aim to use the site on the A’Mhoine peninsula to launch satellites into low Earth orbit.

Their 19-metre long rocket, called Prime, is designed to be reusable and run on a type of bio-propane, carrying up to 180 kilos of cargo into space.

The company has signed a deal with Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) which will see them lease the 10-acre site from the Melness Crofters’ Estate for at least 50 years.

Orbex are overseeing the construction and management of the facility, which they say will be able to handle 12 space launches per year.

The work itself will be carried out by a company called Jacobs, one of Nasa’s suppliers.

Chris Larmour, CEO of Orbex, said: “We are very grateful for the work that HIE, and the Melness Crofters Estate have done, in getting us to the point where we can take the baton and start construction.

“We have collaborated closely with them over the past few years, and we are completely aligned in our vision of delivering a sustainable spaceport that will bring jobs and prosperity to the region.

“Orbex is the first European launcher company to also manage a dedicated spaceport.

“It is an important competitive advantage to the company, which will make it really easy for us to work with customers as we scale up our operations.”

Another spaceport called SaxaVord is currently under construction in the Shetland islands.