NATO delegates shown vital SaxaVord Spaceport and RFA launch capabilities after STARLIFT meeting

SaxaVord Spaceport and its German rocket launch partner RFA showed their capabilities first hand to a delegation from NATO during a visit to the site where an initial test flight is planned for later this year.

The trip to Unst, Shetland, followed a two-day NATO STARLIFT meeting hosted by the Department for Science, Industry and Technology, Ministry of Defence and UK Space Agency in Edinburgh. 

The STARLIFT project aims to give NATO countries agile access to space for the rapid deployment of satellites through commercial launch, which are critical to the capabilities of NATO allies. 

The UK and Germany are already committed to deepening defence co-operation across all domains under the Trinity House Agreement reached in October last year.

SaxaVord, the UK’s only fully-licensed vertical launch spaceport, announced in March its collaboration with RFA and other clients including HyImpulse, another German company, to provide a rapid vertical launch capability for Europe.

SaxaVord Spaceport CEO Frank Strang said: “With mounting global geopolitical uncertainty, today was a great opportunity for SaxaVord and RFA to show the NATO STARLIFT delegates what we have built here and brief them on our future plans.

“Space as a domain has an ever-increasing role to play in keeping us secure and protecting our economies, and the UK and Europe have an asset in SaxaVord and partners like RFA that can help defend our combined interests.”

Daniel Hilgert, NATO’s Senior Space Coordinator, who joined the delegation, underlined the critical importance of NATO’s space port architecture and its launch sector. 

“Through the STARLIFT programme, Allies are exploring novel mechanisms to harness innovation in the commercial launch market, allowing for faster responses to security and defence needs in the space domain.”

UK Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: “We have been working to bolster the UK’s ability to launch into space so that we can boost our collective security both domestically and for our allies as well as grow the UK’s space industry and the British economy, as part of our Plan for Change.

“This event at SaxaVord was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the progress being made towards launch from UK soil, as the spaceport prepares for its first launches with companies such as RFA and Orbex.”