Despite strong opposition from the community, plans to construct a spaceport on the small Hebridean island of North Uist, Scotland, have been approved. The site is located near several protected bird sanctuaries.
Scolpaig Farm, located on the northwestern shore of the island in the Outer Hebrides, is slated to become a spaceport where up to ten launches per year will occur, according to The Guardian. It will be used to send small sub-orbital rockets over the Atlantic.
Rockets will be launched on each side of St. Kilda, a group of islands west of North Uist that are an archipelago of a world heritage site. The waters on each side of St. Kilda will be designated as no-go zones during a series of launches, each measuring 155 miles (250 km) in length.
Opposition From Locals
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), which is spearheading the spaceport idea, purchased the farm for £1 million ($1.2 million) and is developing it alongside private military contractor QinetiQ and space sector businesses Rhea Group and Commercial Space Technologies.
Since no complaints were filed by government organizations, planning authorities of the Scottish government gave their blessing to the project.
Meanwhile, local fishermen have spoken out strongly against the ideas, with over a thousand people objecting to them. Launches are scheduled for the height of their primary inshore fishing seasons in the summer, meaning that nearby fishing areas will be off-limits then.
Corncrakes, dunlin, ringed plovers, and redshanks are among the uncommon and endangered species protected by the environmental protection zones and marine preserves that surround the site.
Despite assurances from ecologists that the project's modest scope would not endanger nearby wildlife, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has requested that launches be prohibited during the mating season. The Guardian reported that the council deemed this "unreasonable," but noted that operators would have to provide justification for launches during this period.
An influential member of the Friends of Scolpaig protest organization and the closest resident to the site, Angus MacNab, expressed his sadness at the news. The committee is weighing its options, including whether or not to file an appeal. "This is one of the most beautiful vistas in Scotland, and now they're going to build a bloody spaceport in the middle of it," MacNab lamented.
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Upcoming Scottish Spaceport
It will be Scotland's third spaceport once construction is complete. Satellites will soon be able to be launched from privately owned launch sites in Saxa Vord in Shetland's far north and off the coast of Sutherland.
QinetiQ radar, which includes a Ministry of Defense monitoring station on St. Kilda's main island of Hirta, will be used to keep tabs on certain Scolpaig launches. The biggest of which will carry 100kg payloads.
A spokeswoman for the spaceport company has suggested that the first launches might occur by the end of 2024. The initiative has the backing of government officials who believe it would aid Scotland in capturing a sizeable share of the global space sector by 2030.
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