Britain is set to become a major 'space nation' as plans for monthly rocket launches are unveiled

Britain could organize monthly rocket launches into space from the Shetland Islands from the summer.

The German company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) has announced that it plans to launch satellites into orbit this summer as a European first.

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The company has set its sights on the SaxaVord Spaceport, on the northernmost island of Unst, for its historic launch.

But RFA doesn't stop there, according to Jorn Spurmann, the company's Chief Commercial Officer.

Spurmann told the PA news agency that the company has submitted plans to launch its 30-metre tall RFA One rocket, with a capacity of 1,300kg, into a sun-synchronous orbit.

“We plan to hit the road in the summer and start the (test) campaign,” he said.

“Then we have an expected first launch attempt and see how it goes.

“We have a special launch pad in the Shetland Islands, purely for RFA. So there is no time pressure for us.”

The project, which has been in the works for years, will be the company's “Olympic gold medal” if successful.

Britain's first orbital rocket launch could take off from the Shetland Islands in October or November this year.

It will also be a jewel after Britain's efforts to carve out a European niche with its own space industry and launch capabilities.

The British role in the global space race

Analysis by Millie Turner, Technology & Science Reporter for The Sun

When private companies like SpaceX began lowering the cost of access to Earth orbit, it was a shot in the arm for the new-age space race.

From satellite communications to defence, space has become a central part of the UK's growth plans and the global economy.

A report from the UK Space Agency and PwC last year found that Britain is the “most attractive destination” for space investment after the US.

Although Britain appears set to compete with the US – a world leader in the space industry – the island is a small fish in an ever-growing pond.

The US has no closer ally than Britain, and the two countries have worked together on space-related security efforts for decades.

In the global space race, the US and Britain play contrasting roles.

Despite both nations being propelled by advancing scientific knowledge and capitalizing on the commercial potential of space, their paths diverged significantly due to differences in growth and resources.

Britain has yet to undergo its first vertical rocket launch, which is expected to take place in 2024.

While the very first British-made instrument to land on the moon disintegrated, along with the rest of the cargo aboard the failed Peregrine One.

The leading countries in space exploration after the US are China, Japan, India and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) – the only countries to ever successfully reach the moon.

Britain is still just a novice in the global space race.

But where Britain will really stake its claim to the skies is in Europe, which does not yet have a fully licensed vertical launch spaceport in the west.

The company will first test the launch facility in Germany and elsewhere before shipping the rocket and cargo satellites to Lerwick before driving to Unst.

With a team of around 300 people, Spurmann said: “We are doing a full assembly and checkout test in Augsburg.

“And then we put it roughly into about a dozen containers.

“Then the final rework of these stages and the fairing encapsulation, the final testing – all of that happens on site at the launch pad.”

Several months before launch, RFA will conduct a “hot test” of the rocket's first stage engines on the launch pad.

Local Unst residents, about 600 of them, reportedly support the project.

“The locals are pretty much realizing what a big opportunity this is for them,” Spurmann continued.