The Sutherland spaceport has received £26 million in public investment. But who are the companies behind it? We look at the unreliable reputations of Lockheed Martin UK and Orbex.
Why Is the UK Government Trusting Orbex with Millions?
The British government is pouring investment into a new project in Scotland, and bringing in foreign companies to take the helm. The new spaceport in Sutherland could potentially form the foundation for the UK’s new space program. The UK only has two satellite launches in its history, one in the last ten years, and the other back in 1971. As a result, they’ve got a lot of catching up to do in terms of infrastructure. But the Sutherland project is not a reliable venture, due in part to the companies the UK has brought in.
Both Companies Raise Serious Questions
One of these companies is Lockheed Martin UK. The government is giving an incredible £23.5 million to Lockheed for their work on the spaceport. However, Lockheed’s role remains contentious. They have a history of bribery scandals going back to the 70’s, and are clearly not a company to trust. On top of that, Danish Orbex is receiving £2.5 million in investment. The rest of the funds are being topped up by private donors. Orbex have promised between 8 and 20 launches per year - hardly an exact number. Why would the government invest so much money in such a vague number? Especially when a large amount of extra money is coming from private, unreliable hands.
What Will the Economy Look Like in 2021?
The other major issue with the project is the question of timing. The UK economy has been heavily hit by the pandemic, like most other countries in the world. On top of that, Brexit is due for early 2021. If the UK crashes out without a deal, ties with Europe will be severed. In that situation, how can we expect a Danish company to successfully operate within the UK? It’s well within their ability to simply take the money and run, pointing out that they aren’t responsible for creating an unstable environment. If that happens, UK taxpayers will have lost millions of pounds thanks to poor planning with unreliable companies.
Conclusion
It remains to be seen what the future holds for the Sutherland spaceport. However, given the grim economic situation, there’s no reason to expect success. Brexit in any form will have a serious impact on the project. Unfortunately, it’s safe to say that this isn’t the renaissance needed in the UK space industry.