SaxaVord still hopes to launch orbital and suborbital missions in 2026 Credit: SaxaVord
By Rob Edwards,
Published by The Ferret, 22 September 2025
Disgruntled islanders have criticised Scotland’s first spaceport in the far north of Shetland for a “culture of secrecy and bad stewardship”, according to a new report.
People from the island of Unst, where the SaxaVord Spaceport is being built, have expressed concerns about the company’s communications with the local community. They said it has stopped attending meetings of the community council and does not respond to queries.
They complained they had no direct communication from the SaxaVord management about the suspension of work at the construction site in 2023 and an explosion during a test of a rocket engine in August 2024.
The report, from the campaign group, Space Watch UK, urged SaxaVord to “improve its game”, and was supported by one community representative. The company refused to comment.
SaxaVord describes itself as “the first fully licensed vertical launch spaceport in Europe”. It says it is “developing our infrastructure and critical services for orbital test flights” in Unst.
SaxaVord told MPs in February that it would be ready for its first launch in July. But in June the Shetland News reported that one rocket company had delayed its planned launch from 2025 to 2026.
Space Watch UK visited Unst in May 2025, and interviewed 13 residents. They have not been named because of local “sensitivities”, but researchers said there was a “consistency of opinion” which suggested they were “likely to be broadly representative of the wider Unst community.”
The report concluded that most people in Unst were “guardedly in favour” of SaxaVord, hoping it would help the local economy. “However, this does not translate as unqualified support for everything the spaceport does,” it added.
“There is disappointment and disgruntlement at the slow pace of construction work and the inconvenience that this has caused, poor communication from the spaceport and the lack of integration by spaceport personnel with the local community.”
Some residents accused the spaceport of making commitments “which have as yet failed to materialise”. There were also “unanswered questions about the future impacts of the spaceport in Unst and its infrastructure”, the report said.
According to one of the report’s authors, Peter Burt from Space Watch UK, people on Unst were “supportive” of SaxaVord. “But there is a deep undercurrent of concern that the spaceport is keeping its distance from the community and is reluctant to speak to local people,” he said.
“This is concerning, given that spaceport managers have apparently been telling VIP visitors that the project has a good record of community relations.”
On a visit in May, the Labour MP for Glasgow West and chair of the UK parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee, Patricia Ferguson MP, described the company’s engagement with the community as “very impressive”.
‘Things need to change’ at spaceport
Burt argued that “things need to change” if the spaceport was to launch several rockets a year, as planned. “SaxaVord Spaceport has received funding from public sources, and this brings with it obligations to the public,” he said.
“Local people have a right to understand what is happening at a site which they are, in part, paying towards, and this includes receiving honest information about the schedule of launches, details of what those launches will be carrying, and any potential safety risks.”
Burt called on SaxaVord to “improve their game” by taking a few simple steps. “The spaceport should attend meetings of the local community council on a regular basis, set up a local liaison group as a channel for dialogue with the public, and arrange a programme of community events to help inform local people,” he said.
Space Watch UK campaigns against the militarisation of space, and The Ferret has previously reported concerns about the military use of SaxaVord. The new report, however, said that people on Unst found this “unthreatening” because they’d had positive associations with an RAF base that previously used the SaxaVord site.
Gordon Thomson, who chairs a local development company, Unst Partnership Ltd, pointed out that the island’s population halved to 600 between 1995 and 2005 after the RAF and an oil company left.
“As said in the report, most people are in favour of the spaceport going ahead and several local people are employed there,” he told The Ferret.
But he added: “We do think Saxavord could be more open about how things are going.” He suggested regular reports be made to the community council, along with more frequent updates on social media.
A spokesperson for SaxaVord Spaceport said: “We have no comment to make.”
See: Original Article
