UK Government Minister for Scotland John Lamont visits new Saxa Vord Space Port
Shetland is set to be at the heart of Scotland’s - and the UK’s - space industry success story, UK Government Minister for Scotland John Lamont said as he visited the Saxa Vord spaceport on Unst.
Saxa Vord is on track to launch its first satellites in 2023 – part of UK-wide efforts to gain up to a £4bn share of the global space market by the end of the decade. The Minister visited the site’s first, newly completed concrete launch pad, one of three orbital launch pads that will support up to 30 vertical launches a year from the former RAF station site, employing up to 200 people in connection with each launch.
Minister Lamont said:
John Lamont was undertaking his first engagements since being appointed as UK Government Minister for Scotland, and met with members of Shetland Islands Council to discuss opportunities and challenges for the islands.
Andrea Manson, Convener, Shetland Islands Council, said:
The minister also visited Scottish Sea Farms’ salmon fishery at Burra and later met teams from Blueshell Mussels and Shetland Mussels, members of the Scottish Shellfish co-operative.
He added: