THE NEW SPACE RACE: SaxaVord prepares for first orbital launch. “A spaceport in the Shetland Islands expects to soon be ready to host the first vertical orbital launch from U.K. soil. In a presentation at the Farnborough International Airshow here July 23, Scott Hammond, deputy chief executive and operations director of SaxaVord Spaceport, said he expected the spaceport to receive the last of the licenses from U.K. regulators in September needed to host the inaugural launch of Rocket Factory Augsburg’s RFA ONE rocket there.”