Scotland's first spaceport, SaxaVord, is set to make history with Europe's first orbital rocket launch. Despite a lack of support from the Scottish Government, particularly the SNP, SaxaVord has made significant progress and is ahead of its rival operation, Sutherland Spaceport, in terms of launch readiness. SaxaVord CEO Frank Strang has accused the Scottish Government of ignoring and even briefing against the spaceport, claiming that they backed Sutherland Spaceport and invested more money into it. However, the Scottish Government has defended its actions, stating that it has a role in fostering trade links and creating investment opportunities in the space sector.
The collaboration between Southern Launch, Varda Space Industries, and SaxaVord Spaceport aims to develop a project at the Koonibba test range in South Australia for the orbital manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. Varda Space Industries specializes in orbital manufacturing using the microgravity and vacuum conditions of space. The partnership will focus on developing new formulations of small molecules and biologics in space and returning them to Earth. Southern Launch will provide the launch facilities for this research. This collaboration demonstrates ongoing cooperation between the United States, Australia, and the UK in the aerospace and defense sectors. The long-term vision is to have the Whalers Way site approved by the state and federal governments and the Australian Space Agency to further develop the industry and enable spacecraft to orbit from South Australia.
In another development, Vector Space Biosciences has unveiled a smallsat drug repurposing platform that utilizes data generated in space. The platform combines language modeling, AI, protein sequence matching, vector databases, and advanced visualizations to develop countermeasures against diseases associated with stressors from human spaceflight. The data from smallsats is augmented with biomedical data and used to construct real-time hidden relationship networks between genes, proteins, diseases, drug compounds, and biochemicals. Vector Space Biosciences aims to protect and repair the human body during spaceflight and develop new therapeutic applications in precision medicine. The company collaborates with scientific labs in various fields and uses advanced language modeling/AI technologies to produce a large number of real-time datasets. The innovations in space biosciences have implications for all industries, including financial markets and precision medicine.
These collaborations highlight the growing interest in utilizing space for pharmaceutical research and drug development. The unique conditions of microgravity and vacuum in space offer opportunities for discovering new formulations and accelerating the drug discovery process. The partnerships between Southern Launch, Varda Space Industries, and SaxaVord Spaceport, as well as Vector Space Biosciences, demonstrate the increasing importance of international cooperation in the aerospace and healthcare sectors.
In other news, SaxaVord Spaceport in the UK has received a license from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), making it the first spaceport in the UK to be fully licensed for rocket launches. The license allows SaxaVord to host up to 30 launches a year and marks the first-ever vertical spaceport on UK soil. The CAA assessed SaxaVord to ensure safety, security, and environmental criteria are met. Launch operators from around the world are currently developing rockets to launch from SaxaVord. The CAA will monitor SaxaVord to ensure compliance with the license terms. This is the 352nd space activity approved by the CAA since it became the UK's space regulator in July 2021. The license follows the announcement of £3.4 million funding for HyImpulse UK, a launch company based in Shetland, to undertake their Hybrid Propulsion Test Programme ahead of the proposed launch of their vehicle from SaxaVord Spaceport.
Sources: [48823334], [8b4f8b2a], [9ac94702], [a4dc4368], [58f1d78e]