UK takes on US to become top 'space nation' as plans unveiled for monthly rocket launches from Shetland Islands

Britain could launch monthly rockets into space from the Shetland Islands as early as summer.

The German company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) announced that it plans to launch the rocket satellites into orbit this summer for the first time in Europe.

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The company targeted SaxaVord Spaceport, on the northernmost island of Anst, for the landmark launch.

But RFA won't stop there, according to Jorn Spurman, the company's commercial director.

Spermann told the PA news agency that the company had submitted plans to launch its 30-meter RFA One rocket with a payload capacity of 1,300 kg into a sun-synchronous orbit around Earth.

“We plan to go on site in the summer and start the (testing) campaign,” he said.

“Then we have the first launch attempt and we'll see how it goes.

“We have a special launch pad in the Shetland Islands exclusively for the RFA. So there is no time for us.'

The project, which has been in development for years, will become an Olympic gold medal for the company after its success.

The UK's first orbital rocket launch could be launched from the Shetland Islands in October or November this year.

It will also be a gem following the UK's efforts to carve out a European niche with its homegrowns space industry and startup opportunities.

Britain's involvement in the global space race

Analysis by Millie Turner, The Sun's technology and science reporter

If private companies love SpaceX began to reduce the cost of getting into orbit, it was like a shot for a new age space race.

From satellite communications to defence, space has become a key part of UK and global economic growth plans.

A report by the UK Space Agency and PwC last year found the UK to be the “most attractive destination” for space investment after the US.

While the UK may seem to be catching up with the US as the world leader in the space industry, the island nation is a fish in an ever-growing pond.

The US has no closer ally than the UK, and the two countries have cooperated on space-related security for decades.

The US and UK play different roles in the global space race.

Although both nations thrive on advancing scientific knowledge and exploiting the commercial potential of space, their paths diverge significantly due to differences in growth and resources.

The first vertical launch of a rocket, which is scheduled for 2024, has not yet taken place in the UK.

While it was the first ever British-only lunar landing instrument disintegrated along with the rest of the cargo on board failed Peregrine One.

The leading countries in space exploration after the USA are China, Japan, India and Russia (the former Soviet Union) – the only countries that have ever successfully reached the moon.

In the global space race, the UK is a newcomer.

But where the UK will really claim the skies is Europe, which is yet to have a fully licensed vertical launch spaceport in the west.

The company will first test the launcher in Germany and elsewhere before sending the rocket and its cargo satellites to Lerwick before traveling to Anst.

With a team of around 300 people, Spermann said: “We carry out full assembly testing and inspection in Augsburg.

“And then we lay out about a dozen containers.

“Then the final processing of those stages and the sealing of the fairing, the final testing, all of that happens at the launch site.”

A few months before launch, the RFA will conduct “hot tests” of the rocket's first stage engines on the launch pad.

Unst locals, around 600 of them, are reported to support the project.

“The locals, they pretty much understand that this is a great opportunity for them,” Sperman continued.