UK Space Industry

Angus Brendan MacNeil Excerpts

Thursday 4th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) [V]]

It has long been known that the Hebrides have a reputation for looking beyond planet Earth upwards. I am thinking of the heavens, in fact, and the Hebrides are of course very like heaven, as well you know, Madam Deputy Speaker. In the 1200s, the philosopher and theologian John Duns Scotus lived here, but in the modern age the Hebrides hold another record. In 2017, the highest and heaviest object to be launched into space was launched from the Hebrides Range in Uist. It went up to a height of 155 miles, or 250 km, which is of course about 25 times higher than commercial space flight, so we have a head start in many ways, perhaps we could say over the centuries, of looking beyond the surface of the earth. We are aware that some public funding is going to Sutherland and Cornwall. There are two other areas—in Shetland and here ourselves in the Hebrides—that would be looking to get the same sort of support, hopefully, that the Government of the UK have given to these other sites.

We also want to see some progress on the Space Industry Act 2018. While regulation is welcome, there are concerns that the licensing process may be quite a lot slower than in other nations. Already we have a site earmarked, which is called Spaceport 1, and we hope to have a sub-orbital launch facility during 2021, accelerating local jobs and bringing economic growth—much needed economic growth—to the area. We can do sun-synchronous and polar orbits, using both north and south trajectories. Access to the site does not require significant local infrastructure investment; it is just about there already. The planned use with the Ministry of Defence brings facilities, and it has the expertise to do this, because obviously, when we launched in 2017 we had that level of expertise. There will be a substantially reduced development cost by using the Hebrides, and we just hope that this will come to fruition for sub-orbital launches because it could be a win-win situation for all concerned.

The expertise and the track record of the Hebrides Range proves this can be done. There is good local backing, and good local infrastructure, from Joe MacPhee and Alison MacCorquodale at the local council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. There are many things just ready to go in the Hebrides for this, and, in fact, without the leg-up that other places have had, it is probably the premier spot to do this. It already has the track record, which I mentioned earlier, of the 2017 launch, and we are ready to build on that and go further. We just need to make sure that all those around us are as prepared as we are in the Hebrides to get it going, and we are looking for the UK Government to do their bit in support, and on the legislative framework and on licensing as well, to make sure that progress comes to us to the benefit of all from these islands.