servodude wrote:sunnyjoe wrote:If you launch closer to the poles then you save fuel (or increase payload) for polar, sun-synchronous and other high inclination orbits. Scottish launches could be useful for some satellite operators
If Scotland works wouldn't Kiruna work better?
My old flat mate moved there to work with the sat' controllers in mid 90's. I think they stopped launching about a decade later.
-sd
Yes Kiruna should be better than Sutherland for such orbits.
The Sutherland spaceport, also known as Space Hub Sutherland or UKVL Sutherland, is a planned to be the first spaceport of the United Kingdom. It would be operated by a commercial entity with 440 employees. The spaceport will host a launch vehicle called Orbex Prime. The spaceport will be located on the A' Mhòine peninsula in Sutherland, Scotland. Construction is set to begin in late 2021, with a first launch as early as 2022.
Coordinates: 58.5107°N 4.5121°E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutherland_spaceportThis is further North than the USA's most northerly launch site (excluding Thule air base in Greenland)
The Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA), formerly known as the Kodiak Launch Complex (KLC), is a dual-use commercial and military spaceport for sub-orbital and orbital launch vehicles. The facility is owned and operated by the Alaska Aerospace Corporation, a public corporation of the State of Alaska, and is located on Kodiak Island in Alaska.
Coordinates: 57.435833°N 152.337778°W
There was a failed launch to orbit attempt from there last week by Astra, interesting video
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2020/09 ... on-kodiak/but it's not as far north as Kiruna
Esrange Space Center (short form Esrange) is a rocket range and research centre located about 40 kilometers east of the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden.
Coordinates: 67°53′38″N 21°06′25″E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esrangewhich in turn is not as far North as Svalbard
The Svalbard Rocket Range or SvalRak as it is named, is a launch site for sounding rockets at Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, Norway. The site has been in use since 1997 and is owned by Andøya Space Center, which is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and the Kongsberg Group. SvalRak's location at the 79th parallel north makes it well-suited for launching rockets to investigate Earth's magnetic field. It is used mostly by American, Japanese and Norwegian researchers. It is the world's northernmost launch site.
Coordinates: 78°55′53″N 11°51′01″E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Rocket_RangeI'm not sure that they have put anything into orbit from here.
Norway has another launch facility slightly north of Kiruna
Andøya Space Center, formerly named Andøya Rocket Range, is a rocket launch site, rocket range, and spaceport on Andøya island (the northernmost in the Vesterålen archipelago) in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. Since 1962, over 1,200 sounding and sub-orbital rockets of various configurations have been launched from the site.
Coordinates: 69°17′39″N 16°01′15″E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And%C3%B8ya_Space_CenterThe most southerly rocket launch facility is in New Zealand north island
Mahia Peninsula (Maori: Māhia or Te Māhia) is located on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, in the Hawke's Bay region, between the cities of Napier and Gisborne. Rocket Lab has set up its Launch Complex 1 close to Ahuriri Point at the southern tip of the peninsula to launch its Electron rocket. Test launches of the Electron started in 2017. During regular operations, it will be used as a commercial launcher of small satellites in the range of 135–235 kg, and miniature satellites called CubeSats. New Zealand's first orbital space launch took place from Launch Complex 1 on 21 January 2018.
Coordinates: 39°09′S 177°54′E
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahia_Peninsulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_r ... unch_sites