Scotland's great opportunity

A new industry is staking shape – and Scotland has the opportunity to play a key role in it.

Space travel – for so long the preserve of the big national agencies – is opening up on a commercial basis. Various companies are developing spacecraft, and travel agents are now taking flight bookings for journeys up to the edge of space.

But these short flights will be just the beginning. They will provide the first income for the new industry, but the real long-term benefits could be in satellite launching.

This is where Scotland comes in. In its two Moray airbases of Lossiemouth and Kinloss, it has top-quality operational resources ideally placed for the new industry, whether for scenery from space or for polar orbit satellite launch.

The facilities have been recognised by companies like Virgin Galactic and by national strategic reports.

Spaceport Scotland is an initiative by people, companies and organisations in the north to stimulate interest in the possible use of a Scottish location for the UK's first operational spaceport.

The two sites at the top of the list for Scotland and the UK are the RAF bases at Lossiemouth and Kinloss. For one of these to become the UK's first spaceport would have a huge significance for the economy of Scotland and particularly for Moray and the Highland area. It's not simply the big boost for tourism, or the opportunities for hi-tech supplies and services. It's the spreading of the spirit of exploration and adventure that's taken shape in the sunshine of the Californian desert at Mojave.

You can help to make it happen.

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