Tag: spaceport

New spaceport proposed in India independent of its space agency ISRO

8:02 am

The existing and proposed spaceports in India
The existing and proposed spaceports in India

According to the chief minister of the Andhra Pradesh province of India, his government is presently in discussions with the private Indian energy company Greenko Group about establishing a partnership to build a commercial spaceport at Hope Island off the coast near the city of Kakinada.

Addressing the gathering of foreign investors in renewable energies and officials of the State government after performing ‘bhumi puja’ [ground-breaking] for the Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia Production Complex in Kakinada, Mr. Naidu said, “Soon, we (Andhra Pradesh) will launch satellites from the Hope Island. It will come soon, and Kakinada will have a lot of advantages in the field of technology and innovation.”

“The Greenko Group is evincing interest in being a part of the State government’s Space City project that includes developing satellite launching facility. In a recent interaction, Greenko Founder and Group CEO Anil Kumar Chalamalsetty has shown interest in the Space City project on the Hope Island,” said Mr. Naidu.

The location has advantages over the Sriharikota spaceport, run by India’s space agency ISRO, which on polar orbital launches needs to use extra fuel to avoid flying over Sri Lanka to the south. This issue is one of the reasons ISRO is presently building that second spaceport to the south for its SSLV rocket.

If privately run, this new spaceport will have other advantages. It will possibly attract some of India’s new rocket startups, who will avoid some of the bureaucracy that accompanies any dealings with ISRO. ISRO launches always involve a gigantic number of government personnel, a cost these startups can’t afford. This new Hope Island spaceport might avoid these costs with low overhead and efficient operations.

Nothing is firm yet. From the statement above, it appears the negotiation is in a very preliminary stage, and might never bear fruit.

Hat tip BtB’s stringer Jay.

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Turkey and Somalia confirm spaceport plans

9:14 am

Somalia

In a public meeting of the presidents of Turkey and Somalia in Istanbul yesterday, Turkish President Recep Erdogan confirmed that Turkey has begun construction of a spaceport in Somalia.

Astrophysicist Umut Yildiz said the project, announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and detailed by Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir, offers Türkiye significant geographic and technological opportunities.

…President Erdogan said the first phase of the three-stage project has been completed and construction has begun under the Türkiye Space Agency, adding that the goal is to establish significant infrastructure in space launch and satellite technologies.

Minister Kacir said the spaceport will become a strategic, revenue-generating infrastructure for Türkiye through growing commercial satellite launch services, testing activities and integration processes, while also contributing to Somalia’s development.

This spaceport plan had first been revealed by Turkish officials two weeks ago, but yesterday’s press conference now makes it official.

No press release from Turkey’s state-run press however revealed the spaceport’s precise location in Somalia. Nor is it confirmed that any actual construction has begun. I suspect it will be a very long time before anything actually launches from the site.

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Turkey begins construction of spaceport in Somalia

9:07 am

Somalia

According to statements by one Turkish official this week, his nation has begun building its own spaceport on the southeast coast of Somalia at a location not yet specified.

Türkiye has begun construction of a space launch facility in Somalia, marking the country’s entry into an exclusive group of nations with oceanside spaceports, Board Chairman of Baykar Selcuk Bayraktar announced on Thursday. “Türkiye now has a space launch station. Normally, you need to be by the ocean. Türkiye has a 30 kilometer by 30 kilometer area in Somalia,” Bayraktar said during a panel at Take Off İstanbul 2025. “When you have oceanside access, you can deploy launch vehicles, meaning you have a spaceport. There are 12 such places in the world. Because Somalia is part of our heartland geography, there will be a space station there,” he noted.

This plan has been in the works since earlier this year, though few real details (such as its specific location) have not been released. It appears however that Turkey wants to use it to test both ballistic missiles and eventually launch orbital rockets. The location on the coast will permit test flights of bigger missiles that Turkey cannot do from its present test sites inside Turkey.

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Thailand studying feasibility of establishing its own commercial spaceport

9:36 am

Thailand
Click for source.

Thailand’s government has begun a study to find out whether it makes financial and technical sense to establish its own commercial spaceport in that country.

The Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Public Organisation), or GISTDA, organised a seminar titled “Thailand’s Future Opportunities for Spaceport Development” on October 15 at iConsiam. The seminar aimed to establish a platform for exchanging views and gathering suggestions from all sectors regarding the future of a “Spaceport” in Thailand, underscoring a critical juncture for the country to elevate its presence on the global space stage fully.

Pakorn Apaphant, GISTDA Director, revealed that GISTDA is currently conducting a feasibility study for establishing a Spaceport in Thailand, in collaboration with the business consulting firm KPMG Phoomchai Business Advisory Ltd. The comprehensive study covers economic aspects, business strategy, environmental and social impacts, as well as a nationwide survey of potential sites to evaluate the most suitable location for future development.

As the map to the right shows, Thailand’s geography is not perfect. It has plenty of coast, in the country’s south, but at any location the trajectory of most launches would almost have to cross land of Thailand or other countries. Nonetheless, with the advent of reusable lower stages, such considerations will eventually become less of a concern.

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Oman announces aggressive ’25 launch schedule and public viewing area at its new Duqm spaceport

9:59 am

Middle East, showing Oman's proposed spaceport
The Middle East, showing the location of
Oman’s proposed spaceport at Duqm.

Oman yesterday announced that it has added a viewing area so that the public can view the planned half dozen launches that are presently planned for the rest of 2025 at its new spaceport in Duqm.

A three-day fan experience in the free-of-charge zone, called Etlaq FX, will feature a series of activities for different age groups, including a robotics competition.

“It is an interactive area within the spaceport, so we can give the public an opportunity to see the launch and engage them with educational activities,” said Zainab Alsalhi, business development manager for Etlaq, during a webinar this month.

The announced launch schedule is of course the real story, as it involves five launches from two different commercial companies as well as from Kuwait.
» Read more

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Fantasyland: Turkey to establish its own spaceport

10:11 am

If you believe this I have a bridge I can sell you cheap: According to Turkey’s state-run press, the Turkish Space Agency is now researching locations for its own spaceport, either in Turkey or in some other nearby nation such as Somalia.

According to information provided by relevant government agencies, efforts are ongoing to select a suitable location for the facility. Discussions are underway with countries near the equator, including Somalia, to maximize launch efficiency.

…Once operational, the spaceport will support independent satellite launches, marking a major step in Türkiye’s ability to access space without relying on foreign platforms.

Recently Turkey launched its first home-built smallsat on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It seems its space agency now believes it can quickly whip up its own rocket and launch it from a quickly built spaceport, likely in another country.

This announcement is nothing but government blather published to puff up these government officials so that they can garner more funding and build bigger more palatial offices.

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Alaskan spaceport sues insurance company over delayed rocket clean-up claims

11:06 am

The Alaskan spaceport in Kodiak has now sued the insurance company of the rocket startup ABL (now out of the orbital rocket business) because it has not responded to the spaceport’s claims for cleaning up the mess caused by a failed static fire engine test.

According to the spaceport, the cost of the damages and cleanup totals about $3.1 million.

The corporation claims ABL Space Systems was required to carry insurance that covered the spaceport, and had a policy for up to $50 million through the U.S. Aircraft Insurance Group (USAIG) to cover the damages.

But after sending three emails to USAIG asking for a copy of its policy and status on a filed claim, which allegedly existed but was never confirmed by the insurance group, Alaska Aerospace’s lawyer Cook with Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot sent a final follow up email last month on Jan. 8.

Having still not gotten a response, the spaceport has now sued. Delays and suits like this are not unusual in the insurance business, because insurance companies often stall when it comes to paying out large claims.

The failure during the static fire test was the final blow in ABL’s effort to enter the orbital launch market. After one failed launch and this static fire test failure it abandoned the market to instead focus on building missiles for the military.

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Construction begins for 3rd spaceport in Scotland

8:04 am

Map of spaceports surrounding Norwegian Sea

Construction of a third spaceport in Scotland has now begun, its location on the northwest coast of the island of North Uist (as shown on the map to the right), with its plans to serve suborbital launches initially.

The Highlands and Islands Enterprise, a Scottish government agency focused on regional development, has allocated £947,000 for the construction of the site’s enabling infrastructure. Additionally, the Comhairle is contributing £675,000 from its 2023-2028 capital programme. The total cost of the enabling works project is estimated to be £2.6 million.

After the construction of the enabling infrastructure is complete, which is expected to occur by Spring 2025, a private sector operator will take over to complete the second phase of construction and manage the spaceport.

According to the Wikipedia page for this area on North Uist, the project was first proposed in 2019, and was then hoping to attract orbital launches. Subsequent opposition by activists slowed development and likely reduced the project from orbital to suborbital, at least for now.

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Sutherland finally gets the okay from local council

9:16 am

Proposed spaceports surrounding Norwegian Sea
Proposed spaceports surrounding Norwegian Sea.

After multiple submissions of its plan to build a spaceport off the coast of Scotland, the Sutherland spaceport’s most recent proposal has finally been approved by the local council.

Most significant about the decision is that it rejected the legal objections of billionaire landowner Anders Holch Povlsen, who has previously fought the spaceport and is also an investor in the competing spaceport SaxaVord in the Shetland Islands. Povlsen had objected to the spaceport placing small tracking antennas on a nearby mountain where other larger communications antennas already operated.

This decison could still face the veto of the Scottish ministry. It will be no surprise if Povlsen uses his clout to cause difficulties at this level.

Meanwhile, it is more than two and a half years since Sutherland’s prime launch customer, Orbex, submitted its launch license to the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), with no approval. At the moment the company hopes to launch next year.

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Oman: 1st launch from Duqm spaceport by the end of the year

2:31 pm

Middle East, showing Oman's proposed spaceport

According to an announcement yesterday Oman plans to complete its first launch before the end of 2024 from its proposed new spaceport near the city of Duqm on the Indian coast.

The map to the right indicates its location. Oman has dubbed the spaceport Etlaq, and it is being run by what Oman claims is a private company, the National Aerospace Services Company (NASCOM), but based on what little I can find out, it appears either to be Oman’s space agency, or a variation of the pseudo-companies in China, privately run but very tightly controlled and owned by government officials.

The announcement provided no information about the rocket or launch, which I suspect will be nothing more than a relatively simple suborbital mission, designed to demonstrate they are serious about this spaceport. The news story at the link shows a picture of a very sophisticated rocket resembling India’s GSLV rocket. I think it is a AI image having nothing to do with reality.

This project was first announced in 2023, with more information released in January 2024. It hopes to attract American rocket companies by claiming it is being built to FAA standards.

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Portugal’s air traffic agency signs deal with company wishing to build spaceport in Azores

9:14 am

Santa Maria spaceport

Portugal’s air traffic agency, Portugal NAV, today signed an agreement with the spaceport company Atlantic Spaceport Consortium, to work out the details of placing a commercial spaceport on the island of Santa Maria in the Azores.

Under the cooperation agreement, the pair aim to define the guidelines that a future spaceport will need to adhere to when launching from Santa Maria. This includes defining exclusion zones, examining how to monitor and authorize launch activities, and studying under what conditions to impose partial or total launch restrictions for safety reasons.

The map to the right shows the location of the island, relative to Europe and Africa. No timeliine for construction has been given, though the consortium hopes to launch “a small atmospheric rocket” in September. It has also signed a deal in 2022 (just before Russia’s invasion) with a Ukrainian rocket startup.

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Sweden’s Esrange spaceport gets its first orbital customer

3:23 pm

Proposed spaceports surrounding Norwegian Sea
Proposed spaceports surrounding Norwegian Sea

Sweden’s Esrange spaceport today announced it has signed its firs orbital rocket customer, Perigee Aerospace from South Korea.

In its 7 May announcement, SSC explained that Perigee Aerospace expected to launch the first Blue Whale 1 mission from Esrange no earlier than 2025 following a successful maiden flight from South Korean soil.

…Blue Whale 1 is a two-stage rocket that will stand approximately 21 metres tall and feature a reusable first stage.

Esrange was originally built by an earlier version of the European Space Agency in 1964, then transferred to Sweden in 1972. Until until a orbital launchpad was installed 2023 it was solely dedicated to suborbital flights. It now is attempting to attract the new commercial rocket industry, as well as compete with the other new nearby spaceports, as shown on the map.

This new rocket from South Korea is also news, as it indicates that the fever for capitalism in space has even reached that country.

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