Virgin eyes Scottish RAF base for Galactic take off
VIRGIN GALACTIC, the commercial space flight project from Richard Branson, is seeking government support to launch flights from Scotland.
The group’s president, Will Whitehorn, has been in talks with science minister Lord Drayson about opening an operation at RAFLossiemouth in Moray.
Virgin says there is great potential for launching into polar orbit from Scotland, but the 1986 Outer Space Act prevents it from operating there.
“There’s an industrial revolution going on in the space industry at the moment,” Whitehorn said.
“We’re really entering into a new era in space. But the outdated Outer Space Act is really hampering the progress that can be made in the industry,”he added.
He also said Lord Drayson was very keen to see an expansion in the British space industry, which employs 50,000 people in the UK and “has great potential for exports”.