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Written question asked by Lord Bowness (Crossbench) on Tuesday, 11 January 2022, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 25 January 2022. It was answered by Lord Callanan (Conservative) on Tuesday, 25 January 2022 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Lockheed Martin and Virgin Orbit

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 28 July 2021 (HL2257), what is the investment to date in (1) Spaceport Cornwall, and (2) Saxa Vord in Shetland; what is the state of launch operations at both sites funded by grants to (a) Virgin Orbit, and (b) Lockheed Martin respectively; and when they anticipate that there will be any launches from sites in the UK.

Answer

Spaceport Cornwall:

  • The UK Space Agency (UKSA) awarded £7.35m to Virgin Orbit to support horizontal launch from Spaceport Cornwall. £4.2m of the UKSA grant has already been disbursed to the grantee for completed milestones. Virgin Orbit’s plans currently anticipate launching from Cornwall Spaceport in the Summer of 2022.

Saxa Vord Spaceport:

  • The UK Space Agency awarded £23.5 million, in two separate grants, to Lockheed Martin. This includes £13.5m to establish launch operations at Saxa Vord Spaceport in Shetland and £10m for the research and development, build and flight demonstration of an Orbital Manoeuvring Vehicle (OMV). £5.3m and £8.5 respectively have been disbursed for completed work. Lockheed Martin are currently aiming to launch from Saxa Vord Spaceport in Autumn 2022.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL5303
Session
2021-22
Related items
Lockheed Martin and Virgin Orbit
Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Expenditure Spaceflight Lockheed Martin Virgin Orbit
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk