Shetland spaceport project secures £30m of UK government investment

The UK government has announced investment of £30m in SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland as part of a new national space strategy.

A spaceport spokesperson said the funding was a "hugely significant" vote of confidence and would unlock a further £30m of private investment.

Several companies hope to use SaxaVord in Unst, the northernmost point in the UK, as a launch site for small commercial rockets.

A government spokesperson said space was "an increasingly important domain" for keeping the country safe.

SaxaVord is the UK's first fully-licensed spaceport and has regulatory approval for up to 30 rocket launches a year.

The company said the £60m public-private investment package would be used to design and build a second hangar and two more launchpads.

Chief executive officer Scott Hammond said the funding would take the company to the next stage of its development.

"We are building the spaceport for the thousandth as much as the first launch," he said.