Britain is FINALLY joining the space race! The first ever launch from British soil gets the green light – with a satellite set to take off from the Shetland Islands
More than seventy years after the British space program was launched in 1952, Britain is finally joining the space race.
The first ever rocket launch from British soil will finally take place this year from the SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst, the northernmost of the Shetland Islands.
The 30-meter-long RFA One launch vehicle, developed by German company Rocket Factory Augsburg, will perform a NASA-style vertical explosion from the site.
It will deliver small and micro satellites up to 1,300kg into orbit for paying customers – marking the first ever UK satellite launch.
Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has been granted a spaceflight permit by the British regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), meaning the flight can officially go ahead.
“The granting of the first vertical launch license from British soil builds on a historic milestone for the nation,” said Rob Bishton, CEO of CAA.
SaxaVord Spaceport is one of three spaceports in Britain looking to launch satellite launches.
It comes two years after Virgin Orbit’s launch from Cornwall ended in failure.
The first ever rocket launch from British soil will finally take place this year from the SaxaVord Spaceport on Unst, the northernmost of the Shetland Islands. The 30-meter RFA One launch vehicle, developed by German company Rocket Factory Augsburg, will perform a NASA-style vertical explosion from the site. RFA One is currently in development. This image is an artist’s rendering and shows RFA One launching from an undefined spaceport
RFA One is Rocket Factory Augsburg’s “innovative launch vehicle that provides flexible and low-cost access to space,” according to the German company founded in 2018
A map shows SaxaVord on the island of Unst, at the northern tip of the Shetland Islands
The privately owned SaxaVord Spaceport has already been granted a spaceport license by the CAA, as well as a range control license, allowing it to clear and monitor the launch zone to make it safe.
It means that RFA One – described as an “innovative launch vehicle that provides 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 license is the result of extensive hard work behind the scenes to implement appropriate safety and environmental measures prior to launch,” he said.
“Through effective licensing and regulation, we are enabling the growing space sector to reach new heights.”
Augsburg-based RFA was founded in 2018 with the mission to build rockets “just like cars” – at high production volume and relatively low costs.
RFA’s first test flight marks the first NASA-style ‘vertical launch’ of a satellite from European soil and it is the first company to license this type of launch.
But RFA One’s first mission, originally scheduled to launch from SaxaVord Spaceport last year, did not go smoothly.
RFA was due to launch in 2024, but an explosive incident at the Shetland Islands site pushed this back to 2025. Pictured, artist’s rendering of a successful 2025 launch
Pictured: SaxaVord spaceport in Unst, Shetland Islands. The German company that wants to be the first to launch a satellite from the northernmost tip of Britain has been given an official spaceflight license
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 on XRFA said the explosion and loss of the first stage (the lower part of the rocket) was an “anomaly” when it fired its engines.
It added: “No one was injured in the process. The launch pad has been rescued and secured, the situation is under control and any immediate danger has been averted.”
The incident pushed the launch date back to this year, although it is unclear exactly when this will take place in 2025; MailOnline has contacted RFA for clarification.
SaxaVord Spaceport is one of three UK spaceports racing to host Britain’s first ever successful 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, just like NASA and SpaceX.
Meanwhile, Spaceport Cornwall is a horizontal launch site, meaning it uses an aircraft carrier, such as a Boeing 747, for launches before deploying rockets when the plane is in the air.
This BBC footage shows the beginning of the explosion at a spaceport on Shetland Island in August during a failed ‘hot test’
In a statement to
There are three British spaceports that want to start up operations. The one in Cornwall is a horizontal launch site, meaning an aircraft carrier, such as a Boeing 747, is used for launches before the missiles are deployed when the aircraft is in the air. 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 aircraft (pictured). Virgin Orbit suspended operations two months later before filing for bankruptcy
Spaceport Cornwall, part of Newquay Airport, was very close to the first satellite launch from British soil two years ago.
In January 2023, Virgin Orbit unsuccessfully attempted a horizontal launch from Spaceport Cornwall, involving the modified Boeing 747 aircraft named ‘Cosmic Girl’.
The purpose of the mission was to put two shoebox-sized monitoring satellites into orbit for the British government, but it failed when a fuel filter became loose, preventing the rocket from entering 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 expecting a launch in 2025, while Space Hub Sutherland, on the northernmost tip of the British mainland, has yet to complete construction.