UK Edition
Britain to become Europe's first spaceport as UK joins space tourism race
Britain could soon be sending tourists into orbit after the UK Space Agency began drafting regulations to allow human launches from spaceports in Cornwall and the Scottish Highlands.
The government is already committed to putting satellites into space from British soil and recently signed a deal with Virgin Orbit to start building the facilities to allow horizontal launches.
Now the UK Space Agency has confirmed it is drawing up regulations to allow sub-orbital human spaceflight, with Virgin Galactic the most likely candidate to take tourists beyond Earth’s atmosphere where they can experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the planet.
Britain’s first official astronaut Tim Peake, said it was ‘incredibly important’ for Britain to be leading the way in space tourism because it could bring huge advances in transportation and see flight times between Australia and the UK cut to 90 minutes.
“For Britain to be the first spaceport in Europe to be able to offer that service because we have the legislation in place, because we’ve sorted out our infrastructure, that will be huge,” said Major Peake.
“It’s a very exciting time right now. Space tourism can come under some criticism as a sport for the rich, but that’s how a lot of things in life start, that’s how aviation started.
“What might be perceived as an expensive folly today actually can in future become a very efficient means of transportation.
“If you extend Virgin Galactic’s principle of sub-orbital flight and improve the vehicles and make them with increasing endurance, you could do London-to-Sydney in an hour-and-a- half on a sub-orbital trajectory.”
Unlike other companies, such as Blue Origin and SpaceX which plan to take tourists into space by rocket, Virgin Galactic’s operation involves a horizontal launch so is more suited to taking off from the first spaceports in Newquay and Sutherland.
Instead of a vertical launch, a carrier aircraft, dubbed ‘WhiteKnightTwo’ carries ‘SpaceShipTwo’ to 50,000 feet before the plane releases and fires its rockets to blast through the Karman Line, the demarcation which represents the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space at 62 miles high. Six passengers will experience five minutes of weightlessness. The craft then changes its wings into a shuttlecock shape allowing it to glide back down to Earth.
Andrew Kuh, Head of Spaceflight Policy at the UK Space Agency, who is speaking at London’s Citadel festival next weekend, said “The Space Industry Act 2018 has already put in place the legal framework and now we’re working on the regulations to enable sub-orbital human spaceflight.
“We have a lot of history in making satellites for space but this is a whole different challenge and we need to assess safety in a different environment. But we’re hoping to have the right regulations in place so that we could launch from Britain.
"There are a few sites that are already interested in doing this and the role of government is to make sure that happens safely."
More than 600 people have already paid $250,000 (£157,000) or put down deposits to fly aboard Virgin’s sub-orbital flights, including the actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Stephen Hawking had also bought a ticket before his death last year.
Last month the company announced it was now so close to making the first commercial flights that it was moving its operations from the Mojave Desert in California, to Spaceport America in New Mexico in preparation.
Although Virgin Galactic’s first flights are likely to launch from the US, Britain could be the first country for space tourism in Europe. Earlier this month the UK Space Agency announced the formation of a National Space Council and pledged £7.85 million funding to help Virgin Orbit establish a base at Spaceport Cornwall that would enable small satellite launch from in the early 2020s.
The government said it was working closely with the United States to establish the necessary technical and legal safeguards for US space launch vehicle operations from UK sites.
Science Minister Chris Skidmore said: “We’re living in an exciting new space age, where national and international space agencies, governments, and entrepreneurs are supporting and investing heavily in launch, satellite applications and exploration.
“In the UK we have legislated to make it possible to launch small satellites and conduct sub-orbital flights, and we are supporting the development of spaceports across the country with £50m from our modern Industrial Strategy.
“We have a thriving space sector right across the country, from Portsmouth to Glasgow, employing thousands of people in high quality jobs.
“The UK’s geographic position provides a unique opportunity to place small satellites into orbit using vertically-launched rockets. We also want to enable horizontal launch from sites such as Spaceport Cornwall, from where aircraft and space planes could take payloads, and one day people, to space.
“Of course, we need to ensure that these activities are safe, which is why the UK Space Agency is working closely with bodies such as the Civil Aviation Authority, as well as industry, to develop the detailed regulations required to make the first launches from UK soil a reality.”
Britain is also working alongside the European Space Agency (ESA) to build a ‘gateway’ space station in the Moon’s orbit which will give astronauts a stepping stone on the way back to the lunar surface, and eventually on to Mars.
The International Space Station (ISS) is also likely to become a destination for space tourists after Nasa announced plans to allow civilian astronauts to visit.