Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a consultation to seek views on SaxaVord’s assessment of environmental effects for its proposed spaceport on the Shetland Islands.
SaxaVord plans to operate a spaceport at Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.
The spaceport is vying to host the UK’s first vertical rocket launches to deliver small satellites into orbit.
As part of licence applications, organisations must submit an Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) for public consultation to the space regulator.
The spaceport is proposing up to 30 launches per year during a 30-year period from Unst, comprising both orbital and sub-orbital ones.
For orbital launches, the height of the launch vehicle is assumed to be between 43ft and 98ft; rockets will have either two or three stages.
The sub-orbital launch vehicles will be between 1.5 to 8 metres in height and will be a single stage. All launches will take place in a northerly direction over the sea.
The opening of the consultation comes as the CAA continues to assess a range of applications from the space industry to determine if they meet the safety, security and environmental requirements for granting a licence for UK launch.
It’s in our DNA to take environmental obligations seriously”
SaxaVord spaceport CEO Frank Strang
The assessment gives SaxaVord the opportunity to present its considerations of all environmental effects and demonstrate measures it will take to avoid, mitigate, or offset any significant risks.
SaxaVord spaceport CEO Frank Strang said: “It is in our DNA at SaxaVord to take our obligations to the environment very seriously, underlined by the fact to the best of my knowledge we are the only spaceport in Scotland that employs a full-time sustainability officer.
“Through the CAA’s consultation we will welcome constructive comments on how to improve the mitigation of our environmental impacts.”
News of the CAA consultation on SaxaVord comes after this summer’s talks between the potential space operator and the North East Scotland Green Freeport (NESGF) bid ahead of what is thought to be an imminent decision by the UK and Scottish Governments on where to place the country’s two green freeports.
The discussions centred on the spaceport on Unst – the UK’s northernmost inhabited isle – becoming a subzone of the NESGF.
This is despite current guidelines which state the green freeport takes in a zoned area within a defined boundary extending around 28 miles (45km).
Five bids have been received to create green freeports in Scotland. They are: Opportunity Cromarty Firth, North East Scotland Green Freeport, Orkney Green Freeport, Forth Green Freeport and Clyde Green Freeport.
CAA head of UK Space Regulation Colin Macleod added: “Reviewing the environmental impacts of a launch is crucial in protecting the local area in these types of activities and those local to the area are the best placed to inform us of the potential impacts of such an undertaking.
Consultation will run from November 10 until December 8
“We encourage all members of the public directly affected by the proposed spaceport, be they individuals or groups, to engage with this consultation.”
The consultation will run for 28 days from November 10 until December 8.
All comments must be received before the consultation closes to ensure they will be considered.
The consultation can be found here.
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