Britain is in a despondent state, weighed down by a stagnating economy, accumulating evidence of its relative decline, persistent cost-of-living challenges and political infighting over immigration. The country could do with a success, a galvanizing moment of national achievement to rekindle optimism. Will space provide it?
More than seven decades after British engineers first began developing rockets, 2024 may finally see the first successful launch from UK soil. Several are planned, though details are scant. The most likely site among a number of candidates is SaxaVord on the island of Unst, the first spaceport to receive approval from Britain’s aviation regulator for vertical rocket launches. Unst is the northernmost of Scotland’s Shetland Islands and closer to Norway than England. SaxaVord will be the first fully licensed such facility in Western Europe, according to the BBC.
