More than 70 years after the British space programme was launched in 1952, Britain is finally joining the space race.
The first ever rocket launch from UK soil will finally go ahead this year from SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst, the northernmost of the Shetland Islands.
The 100ft RFA One launch vehicle, developed by German company Rocket Factory Augsburg, will perform a NASA-style vertical blast off from the site.
It will transport small and micro-satellites of up to 1,300 kg into Earth orbit for paying customers – marking the first ever British satellite launch.
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has been licensed for spaceflight by the UK’s regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), meaning the flight can officially go ahead.
‘Granting the first vertical launch licence from UK soil builds towards a historic milestone for the nation,’ said Rob Bishton, CAA CEO.
SaxaVord Spaceport is one of three spaceports in the UK that aim to start satellite launches.
It comes two years after Virgin Orbit’s launch from Cornwall ended in failure.
The first ever rocket launch from UK soil will finally go ahead this year from SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst, the northernmost of the Shetland Islands. The 100ft RFA One launch vehicle, developed by German company Rocket Factory Augsburg, will perform a NASA-style vertical blast off from the site. RFA One is currently under development. This image is an artistic render, showing RFA One launching from an undefined spaceport
RFA One is Rocket Factory Augsburg’s ‘innovative launch vehicle delivering flexible and low-cost access to space’, according to the German company which was founded in 2018
A map shows SaxaVord on the island of Unst, at the northern tip of the Shetland Islands
Privately-owned SaxaVord Spaceport has already been granted a spaceport licence by the CAA, as well as a range control licence, which lets it clear and control the launch zone to make it safe.
It means the RFA One – described as an ‘innovative launch vehicle delivering flexible and low-cost access to space’ – will finally take off this year.
Bishton added that the upcoming launch will mark ‘a new era for aerospace’.
‘This licence is the culmination of extensive hard work behind the scenes to put appropriate safety and environmental measures in place before launch,’ he said.
‘Through effective licensing and regulation we are enabling the expanding the space sector to reach new heights.’
Augsburg-based RFA was founded in 2018 with the mission to build rockets ‘just like cars’ – at a high production volume and relatively low costs.
RFA’s first test flight will mark the first NASA-style ‘vertical launch’ of a satellite from European soil and it is the first company to receive a licence for this type of launch.
But it has not been smooth-sailing for the RFA One’s maiden mission, which was originally due to launch from SaxaVord Spaceport last year.
RFA was due to launch in 2024, but an explosive incident at the Shetland Islands site pushed this back to 2025. Pictured, artistic render of a successful 2025 launch
Pictured, SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst on the Shetland Islands. The German company which aims to be the first to launch a satellite from the most northerly tip in the UK has been officially licensed for spaceflight
Back in August, RFA was conducting a ‘hot test’ of the RFA One engine at SaxaVord when it dramatically exploded in a fireball.
In a statement posted to X, RFA said blamed an ‘anomaly’ for the explosion and loss of the first stage (the rocket’s bottommost portion) as it fired its engines.
It added: ‘No one was injured in the process. The launch pad has been saved and is secured, the situation is under control, and any immediate danger has been mitigated.’
The incident pushed back the launch date to this year, although it is unclear when exactly it will occur in 2025; MailOnline has contacted RFA for clarification.
SaxaVord Spaceport is one of three UK spaceports that are racing to host the first ever successful British space launch, along with Spaceport Cornwall and Space Hub Sutherland.
SaxaVord Spaceport and Space Hub Sutherland are vertical spaceports, meaning they perform conventional ground launches with a rocket, much like NASA and SpaceX.
Meanwhile, Spaceport Cornwall is a horizontal launch site, meaning it uses a carrier aircraft, such as a Boeing 747, for launches before deploying rockets when the aircraft is airborne.
This BBC footage shows the beginning of the explosion at a spaceport on Shetland Island back in August during a botched ‘hot test’
In a statement posted to X, RFA said blamed an ‘anomaly’ for the explosion and loss of the first stage (the rocket’s bottommost portion) as it fired its engines.
There are three UK spaceports aiming to start operations. The one in Cornwall is a horizontal launch site, meaning it uses a carrier aircraft, such as a Boeing 747, for launches before deploying rockets when the aircraft is airborne. Meanwhile, Space Hub Sutherland and SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands are vertical spaceports, meaning they perform more conventional ground launches with a rocket, like NASA and SpaceX
In January 2023, Virgin Orbit unsuccessfully attempted a less conventional ‘horizontal’ launch from Spaceport Cornwall, involving a modified Boeing 747 plane (pictured). Virgin Orbit suspended operations two months later before filing for bankruptcy
Spaceport Cornwall, which is part of Newquay Airport, came very close two years ago to hosting the first satellite launch from British soil.
In January 2023, Virgin Orbit unsuccessfully attempted a horizontal launch from Spaceport Cornwall, involving its modified Boeing 747 plane called ‘Cosmic Girl’.
The mission objective was to put two shoebox-sized monitoring satellites into orbit for the UK government, but it failed when a fuel filter became dislodged, preventing the rocket from reaching orbit.
Unfortunately, Virgin Orbit suspended operations two months later before filing for bankruptcy and Spaceport Cornwall has not attempted a space launch since.
Spaceport Cornwall is reportedly eyeing a launch in 2025, while Space Hub Sutherland, at the northernmost tip of the British mainland, is yet to finish construction.
