US rockets firm eyes up mothballed Highland spaceport

A rockets manufacturer says the mothballed Sutherland Spaceport could become its first launch site outside the US.

Colorado-based Leap has agreed to work with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which owns the area of peatland near Tongue, to develop the plans.

Little work has been done at the site after Moray-headquartered rockets firm Orbex put construction on hold in 2024 . The company later collapsed and its assets were sold off .

Leap said the spaceport could potentially be used for launching small satellites for customers in the UK and mainland Europe.

Leap is designing rockets that could be mass produced in factories.

Chief executive Chris Beckman said: "We're not just building a rocket. We're building a global logistics network, and a network needs launch sites wherever customers require them.

"Sutherland is an ideal starting point for a network that begins in Europe, and HIE shares our ambition to make recurring spaceflight from Scotland real."

HIE and Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn have welcomed the agreement.

本文の著作権はBBCにあります。