
UK spaceport proposed for Sutherland site - teh_klev
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-44839536
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dalore
Now if Scotland leave the UK and rejoin the EU (and I don't blame them after
this Brexit mess) then the UK will lose out on it's brand new spaceport.

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delibes
On the plus side, it's remote.

But it's hard to get my satellite there, and the weather there doesn't seem
ideal for launching rockets.

I'd expect the east of the UK to be better for both access and available
launch dates. Perhaps air traffic corridors are a problem.

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walshemj
I would assume that its for specific orbits - Ascension Island would make a
better site for traditional launches.

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DmenshunlAnlsis
I wonder if they’re also thinking about the future of suborbital transport? It
seems distant to me, but it might play into the investment if they think this
could be the Heathrow of suborbital transit in the future.

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JumpCrisscross
Heathrow would be the Heathrowof civilian suborbital transit.

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isostatic
Possibly, Heathrow is pretty crowded, but somewhere within half an hour of
London yes. A site on HS2, preferably in the most NIMBYest area, would be
good.

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toomanybeersies
Interesting that they didn't mention Rocket Lab at all in the article, who are
the actual builder of the Electron rocket.

Rocket Lab are only partially owned by Lockheed Martin.

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alexgray
They gave a photo credit to Rocket Lab at the least.

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ufo
> The UK Space Agency said the site in Sutherland was chosen as it is the best
> place in the UK to reach highly sought-after satellite orbits with
> vertically launched rockets.

Does anyone know what they mean by this? Usually rocket launch sites try to be
as close to the equator as possible so why did they pick such a northerly
location this time?

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achamayou
If you are going for a polar orbit (ie. circling from one pole to the other),
any initial speed you pick up from the rotation of the earth will need to be
cancelled out by burning fuel.

So the further north (or south) you go, the lower that speed is (since you are
closer to the rotation axis).

If you’re going for an equatorial orbit, that initial speed is helping you, so
you maximise it by launching as far away from the axis as possible (ie.
somewhere close to the equator).

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JdeBP
It makes me wonder whether there is any place further north than Sutherland
where the ESA could set up (or has already set up).

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kwhitefoot
Why not Svalbard.

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isostatic
Svalbard is a bit tricky - while it is part of Norway (which itself is part of
the ESA), it has military restrictions, and other countries can operate
commercially from there.

There is a (suborbital) rocket launch facility there to study aurora etc, but
it's limited to 4 launches per year.

Greenland could be a good site -- I believe they are still a member of ESA
through Denmark, so Qaanaaq would be a great place for polar launches, weather
and access permitting.

