I thought it was beneficial for space-launch sites to be as close to the equator as reasonably possible to benefit from the extra velocity provided by the rotating Earth. So why put one almost as far north as possible on the UK mainland?
Polar orbits.
I think they plan to launch things into a polar orbit. Proximity to the equator has no advantage for polar orbit launches. It's as far north as possible to avoid falling rockets landing on inhabited areas. The Russians have a launch site in the north of Russia as well as in Kazakhstan and other places.
Yes and retrograde orbits, but it does cramp the style a little for getting customers. I thought they were planning one somewhere in Devon at one time? I think the sea launch idea has a lot going for it. take your rocket to wherever the best launch site is on a pontoon. Brian
This morning the radio was talking about vertical (rocket) launches from A'Mhoine and horizontal (plane) lauches from one of three possible locations - one being Cornwall.
SteveW
Ah, thanks, and to PeterC. I suppose with a polar orbit you can effectively scan the whole of the earth's surface given a few cycles, but with an equatorial orbit, you...um...can't. Is equatorial better for stationary satellites, such as are used for communications and geolocation?
It's the *only* option for such satellites.
The Moine area isn't actually uninhabited. I live just on the edge of it, as do many of my relatives. The air up here is lovely and clean - I wonder what rocket fuel will do to it...
You can only have a geostationary orbit over the equator.
If rockets are fired in a northerly direction from a northern most point of the area they aren't going to fall on people, anymore than rockets fired from Cape Canaveral fall on Florida and rockets fired into polar orbits from Vandenburg AFB in California fall on people.
If the fuel is hydrogen and oxygen like Ariane uses, it will just make it slightly wetter. :-)
think of the positive points - better roads to carry the necessary lorries. Perhaps a pier to bring in kit by sea ,,,,
if it can happen in French Guiana it can happen in Scotland too. One better road :-)
Not better. Mandatory.
Geosynchronous earth orbits (GEO) are a long way further up (36000km) compared with low earth orbit (~500km). That means you need much more powerful rockets to get there, and so you need to design the spaceport to handle them. If you're only launching for LEO you can have smaller rockets and a more lightweight design of launch site.
The betting is that future services (positioning, satellite internet, etc) are going to make more use of constellations of small LEO satellites in polar orbits rather than a single large GEO satellite a very long way up.
Theo
The new 'go it alone' UK? We don't need to co-operate with anyone. Even when it makes sense.
Newquay, in fact, notable because the airport has one of the longest runways in the country, if not the longest, about a mile IIRC. This resulted in Concorde being diverted to Newquay when Heathrow was closed by fog, with the irony that passengers who came from New York in a bit over 3 hours, then took considerably longer to get to Heathrow by coach! Whether the long runway has anything to do with its being selected as a spaceport, I don't know, but quite possibly if the launches are horizontal.
A remoaner trying to hijack the thread, as usual! In fact the BBC article says "HIE will work closely with a consortium that includes the American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.". Not 'go it alone' then.
You'd not noticed it's been announced just after the queries about the EU one we currently participate in? Of course just a coincidence. Since it is design and building of satellites we're strong at, not launching them.
Yup. With that nice Mr Trump making very sure the US is in charge.
You come across as a sad and deluded person if you think that.
Make your mind up.
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