Scottish space port founder dies months before first launch

Tributes have been paid to one of the founders of the Shetland space port following his death just months before its first launch.

Frank Strang MBE died shortly after receiving a cancer diagnosis, aged 67.

Mr Strang, alongside Scott Hammond and Debbie Strang, founded the SaxaVord Spaceport on the site of a former RAF radar station on the island of Unst in Shetland.

They turned their idea for a commercial spaceport into reality in 2017, assembling a small team and winning considerable financial backing in the process.

The spaceport is in the process of preparing for its first launch.

Announcing his death, SaxaVord Spaceport remembered their co-founder for his “unorthodox style, long hair and cowboy boots coupled with a legendary drive and determination”.

They said he helped SaxaVord overcome seemingly impossible odds to become the UK’s first fully licensed vertical launch spaceport, complete with launch stool, integration hangar and tracking and telemetry system.

A statement added: “His death is devastating for the now much larger team of people he and Scott have built to be ready for a first launch later this year or early next, but will make them determined to deliver long-term success.”

Scott, who is expected to take over as CEO, said: “I have been a friend and colleague of Frank since our days together in the RAF, so his death so young is an enormous blow both personally and professionally.

“When we first identified the prospects for a spaceport at Lamba Ness in Unst, Frank would not take no for an answer and broke through barriers that would have deterred lesser people.

“He was a real force of nature, and his vision and his grit got us to where we are today, bringing the Unst and Shetland communities, investors and government with us.

“But our mission is not complete – my job now is to deliver not only the first launch but successive launches that establish the UK as Europe’s leader in access to space.

“Both myself and the SaxaVord team feel a strong sense of responsibility to deliver that goal for Frank, and we will, I am in no doubt.

“We are determined to make the UK Europe’s leader in vertical launch spaceflight. That will be Frank’s legacy, for Shetland, for Scotland and the UK.”