Europe's northernmost planned orbital launch site, on Unst in the Shetland Islands at 60.9°N. Its extreme latitude makes it ideal for sun-synchronous and polar orbits with minimal fuel penalty. Licensed and under construction; first orbital launches expected in the mid-2020s.
A launch site's latitude determines which orbits are achievable and at what fuel cost. SaxaVord at 60.8990°N sets the following constraints:
From 60.8990°N, SaxaVord can reach 2 Starlink inclination shells: 70°, 97.6° SSO (polar).
Trains launched to higher inclinations are visible from more of the world. A 97° SSO train from SaxaVord would be visible at virtually every latitude; a 53° train is visible from latitudes up to ±57° (primarily) — much of the populated world. In the hours after launch — before satellites raise their orbits — a tight train of 20–60 bright dots crosses the sky roughly every 90 minutes. Use OrbitalNodes' Starlink tracker for exact train pass times.
SaxaVord Spaceport is located at 60.8990°N, 0.8738°W in Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is owned and operated by SaxaVord Spaceport Ltd. The site is under development and has not yet conducted an orbital launch.
Current vehicles operating from SaxaVord Spaceport include Orbex Prime (planned), HyImpulse (planned). Primary customers are Orbex, HyImpulse, future tenants, launching SSO smallsats, polar orbit commercial constellations.
At 60.8990°N, SaxaVord's minimum achievable inclination is 60.9° (due-east launch). Sun-synchronous orbits (~97°) are particularly efficient from this high latitude. The site can reach orbits between roughly 61° and 98° inclination.
SaxaVord Spaceport is still in development and has not yet conducted orbital launches. When operations begin, it will be one of the few sites in Shetland Islands capable of launching to space.
Satellites regularly launched from SaxaVord include SSO smallsats, polar orbit commercial constellations. Use OrbitalNodes to track any visible satellite in real time.
SaxaVord at 60.8990°N was positioned to serve high-inclination and polar orbit missions. Development is ongoing.
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