2024 UK Spaceport Ranking: How Close is the UK To Launches?

Orbital Today is the proud home of the UK Spaceport Ranking. With seven spaceports across the United Kingdom vying for bragging rights and paying clients, we have decided that it is time to look at their progress. This table is our snapshot on the industry as of May, 2024, and we will update it as the UK space launch industry quickens the pace of its development.

First, let’s look at the table!

Let’s look at each of the spaceports. Who’s In The UK Spaceport Ranking?

Spaceport Cornwall

As the first site in the UK with a spaceport licence, and the only UK-based launch under its belt, Spaceport Cornwall is the obvious choice for leading the league. It’s unclear when the next launch will occur, as its launch partner Virgin Orbit has since gone under and is not going to return in any horizontal launch semblance. Other launch partners are still in the pipeline. Cornwall has always seen launch as the jewel in a space tech crown, and has been building quite a hub which should attract and keep partners around.

At the end of 2023, Ross Hulbert, head of engagement at Spaceport Cornwall, told Orbital Today: ”I’m aware that when people think of a spaceport, they want to see launches. We are in early stage discussions with an established launch provider to hopefully be launching here from as early as 2025. And we’re looking to announce that in the next few months.”

With a new launch partner, Spaceport Cornwall could still be top of the tree when it comes to launching from UK soil in our next ranking. There are others vying for the top of the table, though.

Spaceport SaxaVord

With ground broken for the launchpad itself, we rank SaxaVord as second in the UK Spaceport League Table. The spaceport has partnerships in gear for both launch services and some important infrastructure. SaxaVord was provided with a CAA licence, granted just before the turn of the year, a huge step to becoming a “fully-fledged spaceport”.

The opening of the payload processing facility, in partnership with Plastron UK, is another marker of importance.

SaxaVord will be the UK launch site for the US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, and with such a huge partner it seems launches may be closer at SaxaVord than elsewhere in the UK. The momentum seems to be in their favour. One of their launch partners, HyImpulse, successfully launched from Australia on 3rd May. Serious partners indeed.

Spaceport 1 (Uist)

Rhea Group had been quiet, especially compared to the team at SaxaVord, when it comes to developments at their site in the Western Isles. The company claims that it is ahead of construction schedule as well, and the Scottish government cleared its plans in summer 2023. The spaceport hopes for its first launch in 2024 or 2025, and the former seems ambitious.

A spokesman for Western Isles Council said: “Even at this early stage, it is acknowledged by the launch industry that Spaceport 1 – and the Outer Hebrides – has a critical role to play in the expansion of the Scottish and UK space sectors.”

Since we are prioritising announced launch year, Spaceport 1 lands behind SaxaVord, but it could well drop to the bottom of the UK Spaceport Ranking if it remains silent.

Sutherland Space Hub

Scotland’s third base in our table is Sutherland Space Hub. It will be the home pad for the British vertical launch company Orbex. Originally two completely unrelated organisations, Orbex stepped in to develop the site to save the programme. The hub had been tagged by Lockheed Martin as its UK launch base until October 2020, when the American firm switched its focus to SaxaVord.

As the only Scottish site on the mainland, Sutherland is at an advantage logistically for British space companies. At the same time, the roads to the site might need a serious upgrade, especially some of the bridges.

Building work got underway in 2023, but there have already been plans submitted to downsize and relocate parts of the facility, including moving the range tracking infrastructure to Ben Tongue, a separate site to the east of the main complex. Still, things are moving at this spaceport and building is well underway, with statements still estimating a 2024 opening, and more likely a launch in 2025 or beyond.

SP Snowdonia

There are seven sites in this league table, but only one truly taking a unique angle on space launch. That would be SP Snowdonia, which, as home to Newton Launch Systems, will send its rockets into space at an initial 45-degree take-off angle.

Snowdonia won’t focus solely on launches or manufacturing, as an observatory and planetarium are scheduled to be built there as well. We expect the infrastructure to be built, and Newton Launch Systems is an established company in the UK with deep roots.

In December 2023, Spaceport Snowdonia secured £820,000 funding from the UK Space Agency as part of the Agencies Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund, and have estimated that the building will be completed in March 2025.

Prestwick SP

Prestwick will leverage existing aerospace infrastructure to become a horizontal launch base as Cornwall is now. 2023 saw a visit to Prestwick by Scottish Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism, and Enterprise Ivan McKee is the latest sign that the spaceport is moving forward. Launch partner Astraius will use a Boeing C-17 to carry their rocket internally to launch altitude then slide the rocket out the back by parachute, thus removing some of the intricacy of Virgin Orbit’s wing-mount system.

Things have been very quiet for 12 months or so, with no significant updates. As with Newton Launch Systems at Snowdonia, we feel confident that Astraius will launch – it’s a matter of when.

SP Machrihanish

Already a rocket engine testing site, this old Royal Naval Air Station on the Kintyre Peninsula boasts Scotland’s longest runway. Skyrora conducted a static fire test here in 2023. UK Launch Services intend to operate orbital horizontal launches from here as well as suborbital vertical launches. UK Launch Services, Ltd, which is also involved in Prestwick and had been involved with the initial development of Sutherland, is developing Machrihanish, though operations will be handled by Discover Space UK.

What’s Behind The Ranking?

The UK space industry is expanding in a number of remarkable ways. At Orbital Today, we feel that creating a series of rankings will help create a sense of that expansion, give credit where it’s due, and shine some light where it needs to be, especially if it’s not appreciated. We use only open sources such as media announcements and articles and data from company websites. It’s a work in progress, and we’ll point clearly to our changes as we grow!