A privately run spaceport on the island of Unst in Shetland, on a former RAF site, licensed to launch rockets upright into polar orbit.
SaxaVord Spaceport is a place where rockets are launched into space. It sits on the Lamba Ness peninsula on Unst, the most northerly inhabited island in Shetland, and was previously known as Shetland Space Centre. A UK Space Agency study found that the site has clear northbound paths over the sea, which suits satellites that fly in polar or sun-synchronous orbits, the paths used for Earth observation. The site plans three launch pads, a range control centre, rocket hangars and integration buildings, with fuel storage at Baltasound. A spaceport does not build rockets itself; it hosts rocket companies and manages the safety of their launches.
The site is a former RAF base, and Frank and Debbie Strang, who own and run it, took it over in 2004. Frank Strang has called the first licence historic and said the team was very proud of the responsibility. In December 2023 the Civil Aviation Authority gave SaxaVord the UK's first licence for a vertical-launch spaceport, allowing up to 30 launches a year. A range licence followed in April 2024, giving control of the sea and airspace to the north. We did not find a longer mission statement in the pages we read.
In the UK, SaxaVord has its launch site on Unst and, according to a 2022 report, a head office in Grantown-on-Spey in the Highlands, with a team that also included people in Germany. Its customers include Rocket Factory Augsburg, a German company with exclusive use of the northernmost pad and an orbital launch licence granted in January 2025, and Skyrora, a Scottish company licensed in August 2025 for suborbital launches. Wikipedia says the first launch slipped to 2026 and that Orbex, which had planned to move its launches there, became insolvent in February 2026.
In the same 2022 report, a recruitment firm said SaxaVord already employed former Armed Forces and oil and gas workers and was looking for people who are agile, resilient and self-starters keen for a new challenge. At that point the team was 24 people, with plans to grow to over 100. Those are older figures. Historic Environment Scotland, when it withdrew an objection in 2022, cited the benefits the development would bring to the community in Unst, and the neighbouring Saxa Vord distillery has even released spaceport-themed products.
The same article listed the kinds of roles the spaceport needed: a chief financial officer, quality and document control, human resources, health and safety, head office support, and technical, commercial and ground roles on Shetland. Launch operations also need range safety officers, engineers, weather specialists and people who look after the site. Working here would suit someone who wants to be part of a new industry in a remote and distinctive part of the UK.
Website: saxavord.com
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