South Ayrshire Council has started the process of submitting a formal planning application for the Prestwick Spaceport development. The Proposal of Application Notice (POAN) is the first step in the planning process for Prestwick Spaceport and signals the intent to apply for planning permission in early 2022.

The submission of the POAN follows the Council's submission of an Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Report last year which confirms that Prestwick's space ambitions will not result in any significant adverse effects to the environment.

Launches from Prestwick will take place using a method known as horizontal or air launch, in which an aircraft will carry a rocket containing small satellites a long distance to high altitude above the ocean. Once safely beyond inhabited areas and above the densest layer of the atmosphere, the rocket leaves the aircraft, ignites its engines, and carries its payload to orbit. Launch operations at Prestwick will therefore consist mainly of processing rockets and their payloads, loading them on to a launch aircraft, and then conventional aircraft take-offs from the existing airport runways.

Councillor Peter Henderson, Leader of South Ayrshire Council, commented: "Prestwick Spaceport has achieved another milestone by filing a POAN for its development. The POAN starts the process for Prestwick Spaceport submitting its formal planning application later this year."

"This follows on from Prestwick Spaceport securing a launch provider, Astraius, in September last year," continued Councillor Peter Henderson. "By securing a launch partner and beginning the planning process, South Ayrshire is on its way to establishing Prestwick Spaceport and ensuring an exciting future for our local communities and making South Ayrshire part of the global space economy."

To provide horizontal launch capability, which until now has never been accessible anywhere in Europe, Prestwick Spaceport has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Astraius, the leading UK-based commercial horizontal launch company. Astraius will launch rockets from standard transport aircraft that require no modification and will be able to place small satellites, such as shoebox sized CubeSats, into a variety of orbits. These small satellites can be used for a host of applications, such as monitoring climate change or tracking food supply chains to ensure that products in supermarkets are sustainably sourced. The city of Glasgow already designs and manufactures more CubeSats than any city outside of the USA.

Prestwick aims to conduct its first rocket launch by the end of 2023, a goal supported by the Ayrshire Growth Deal, a multi-million-pound funding package that was signed last year. 80 million pounds of the Growth Deal is dedicated to securing Ayrshire's future as a leading region in the UK's aerospace and space engineering industries.

Zoe Kilpatrick, Commercial Director at Glasgow Prestwick Airport said: "We are delighted to see the next stage of the Prestwick Spaceport being developed. We are building an industry in Ayrshire which will create jobs and investment for years to come."

"2022 will see further developments as we partner with more organisations to grow and expand our space capabilities here at Glasgow Prestwick Airport. It is a very exciting time to be involved with the project and I look forward to seeing progress made over the coming months as we approach our first launch in 2023."

Satellite launches from Prestwick, along with the other measures in the Ayrshire Growth Deal, will create many opportunities beyond launch, such as establishing a high-tech space supply chain in the region to complement the existing aerospace cluster, creating as many as 4,000 jobs for the local economy. Horizontal launch from Prestwick will give Ayrshire the opportunity to be at the forefront of satellite launches not only in the UK but in Europe as a whole.

The public will be invited to find out more about the Spaceport planning application, ask any questions about the proposed development and give their views at public consultation events to be held in February and March. Further details will be made available in advance of these public consultations.

The Aerospace and Space project is being funded with 32 million pounds from the UK Government, 30 million pounds from the Scottish Government, and 18 million pounds from South Ayrshire Council as part of the 251 million pound Ayrshire Growth Deal - a ten year investment programme jointly funded by the UK and Scottish governments and local authorities.

-SPACE STORY-- aerospace ED https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-01-iraqi-airways-receives-its-first-a220-300 225 22-DEC-49 Iraqi Airways receives its first A220-300 Iraqi Airways receives its first A220-300 iraqi-airways-airbus-a220-300-hg.jpg iraqi-airways-airbus-a220-300-lg.jpg iraqi-airways-airbus-a220-300-bg.jpg iraqi-airways-airbus-a220-300-sm.jpg With the A220, Iraqi Airways will benefit from the aircraft's exceptional technical, economic and environmental performance. Airbus
by Staff Writers Mirabel, Canada (SPX) Jan 10, 2022 Iraqi Airways, the national carrier of Iraq, has taken delivery of its first out of five A220-300 aircraft from Mirabel, Canada. Upon entry into service, Iraqi Airways will become one of the first airlines to operate the A220 in the Middle East region.

With the A220, Iraqi Airways will benefit from the aircraft's exceptional technical, economic and environmental performance. Iraqi Airways' A220-300 features a modern and highly comfortable dual-class cabin that seats 132 passengers; 12 in business class and 120 in economy class. The state of the art aircraft will play an integral part of Iraqi Airways fleet renewal and modernization plan.

The A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market and brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt and Whitney's latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines.

Featuring a 50% reduced noise footprint and up to 25% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft, as well as around 50% lower NOx emissions than industry standards, the A220 is a great aircraft for regional as well as long distance routes operations.

Related Links
Prestwick Spaceport
Astraius
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

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