SaxaVord Spaceport has finalised a £60m public-private funding agreement intended to complete key launch infrastructure at Lamba Ness on Unst, Shetland. The package combines £30m from the UK Government with a matching commitment from long-standing investor Wild Ventures. It advances a funding plan outlined in September into a signed agreement, supporting continued construction at the UK’s licensed vertical launch spaceport as operators prepare future rocket campaigns.
The investment will fund completion of three launchpads, mission management infrastructure and a second integration hangar. Pads accommodate launch vehicles and associated ground equipment, while integration buildings provide space for preparation and assembly before a rocket is moved to its launch position. Mission management facilities coordinate the systems and activities required during each campaign. A second hangar gives the site additional preparation space as it works with multiple operators, whose launch vehicles may require different assembly sequences, servicing arrangements and checks before they can be transferred to a pad. Together, the planned facilities support the spaceport’s multi-operator development.
The UK Government had set out its planned £30m investment in September, subject at that stage to due diligence and final approval. SaxaVord identified a matching £30m private contribution as part of the same programme. The agreement finalised in late October confirms Wild Ventures’ matching commitment and the public investment structure. Wild Ventures has supported the project for several years, and its arrangement allows additional investors potentially to participate in the funding it has committed.
SaxaVord holds regulatory approval for up to 30 launches a year. Operating several pads will require launch campaigns to be scheduled around vehicle preparation, ground-system testing, maintenance and inspection after individual flights. The capacity available in practice will depend on launch providers’ readiness, the time needed to prepare each vehicle and the safe coordination of site activities. Completion of the funded infrastructure will give operators more facilities to use as flight programmes advance.
Germany’s Rocket Factory Augsburg is working towards an orbital test flight from SaxaVord using its RFA ONE vehicle, following a postponed 2026 launch window. HyImpulse is preparing a separate suborbital campaign involving its SR75 rocket. Their different mission profiles bring distinct vehicle preparation, flight planning and range safety requirements, although both depend on reliable access to launch and integration infrastructure on Unst.
HyImpulse is targeting spring 2027 for its first flight from Shetland. Suborbital vehicles follow a trajectory that does not achieve a sustained orbit, while an orbital launch must reach the velocity and flight path needed for a spacecraft to remain in orbit. Those different objectives affect mission profiles, flight safety requirements and the ground support equipment needed for the vehicles as they undergo preparation for launch.
SaxaVord’s spaceport licence provides the regulatory framework for the site, while launch operators require authorisations covering their own activities and vehicles. HyImpulse secured its UK launch operator licence in October and is preparing its campaign for spring 2027. Completion of the ground facilities and the necessary flight-specific preparations will proceed alongside the operators’ engineering programmes.
The site occupies a remote location at the northern end of the Shetland Islands, where construction work and routine operations depend on the movement of specialist equipment, materials and personnel. Its development has involved converting a former radar station into launch facilities. The planned second integration hangar will add space for vehicle preparation and related activities, while completion of three pads will broaden the ground infrastructure available for the launch programme.
The public-private arrangement combines the government’s September investment commitment with the support of Wild Ventures, an investment arm of Heartland and a long-standing SaxaVord shareholder. Wild Ventures has structured its commitment so that other investors may take up part of the allocation and join the shareholder base. The signed agreement therefore advances the funding plan while leaving each launch provider responsible for completing its vehicle and campaign preparations. Those programmes will draw on a common site infrastructure but follow separate regulatory and technical timetables.
With the funding agreement signed, SaxaVord can continue construction work in parallel with launch providers’ vehicle development and campaign preparations. Completion of the ground systems will enable operators to carry out the integration and readiness activities required before a flight. The site’s first launch will depend on those preparations and the relevant authorisations, while a sequence of later campaigns will require dependable pad turnaround, integration capacity and coordination between operators.
