A previous rocket engine test at SaxaVord in May. RFA
A previous rocket engine test at SaxaVord in May. RFA
A previous rocket engine test at SaxaVord in May. RFA
A previous rocket engine test at SaxaVord in May. RFA

Rocket engine catches fire in tests at vertical launch spaceport SaxaVord


Soraya Ebrahimi
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A rocket engine caught fire on Monday at the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, during tests at western Europe’s first fully licensed vertical launch spaceport.

An engine testing campaign was under way on the launch stool at the site in Unst, the UK’s northernmost inhabited island, before a planned launch in autumn.

German manufacturer Rocket Factory Augsburg, or RFA, said no one was injured in the incident at SaxaVord Spaceport on the remote island.

Video of Monday's test launch showed the engine exploding on the launchpad, with the entire structure engulfing in flames and thick smoke.

The spaceport recently received its licenses from the Civil Aviation Authority and is designed for small rockets delivering payloads into low earth orbit. It is billed as western Europe's only fully-licensed vertical rocket launch port.

RFA was running tests there ahead of holding the UK's first vertical rocket launch into orbit this autumn.

SaxaVord spaceport - in pictures

German companies Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse hope to carry out launches from SaxaVord in 2024.

Satellites in polar orbits include those that monitor Earth’s environment, such as remote-sensing satellites and some weather satellites, as well as some military surveillance satellites, according to experts.

Owners, husband and wife Frank and Debbie Strang, took over the former RAF base in 2004. They also have plans for a hotel and visitor centre at SaxaVord.

The spaceport includes three launch pads and a hangar for assembling rockets.

SaxaVord Spaceport formally opened in May after receiving its Spaceport and Range licences from the Civil Aviation Authority in December 2023 and April this year.

The company was granted permission to host up to 30 launches a year for companies requiring satellites in polar orbit.

Ahead of being granted a licence, SaxaVord was assessed by the space regulator as meeting appropriate safety, security and environmental criteria, as well as having suitable infrastructure, equipment and services to accommodate vertical space launches.

The site is working with several companies, including Edinburgh-based rocket company Skyrora, in addition to Rocket Factory Augsburg and HyImpulse, and Lockheed Martin ABL Space Systems.

The spaceport licence puts Scotland at the centre of the European launch market, with Scottish satellites already in space, and home-grown rocket companies breaking new ground.

There are launch operators from around the world developing rockets to launch from SaxaVord, who are at various stages of the assessment process with the Civil Aviation Authority.

The not-too-distant future could see Scottish-built rockets launching Scottish satellites from a Scottish spaceport.

SaxaVord's licence is the 352nd space activity approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority since becoming Britain's space regulator in July 2021.

The regulator now monitors more than 750 different satellites, has licenced two spaceports, a launch from Cornwall, and OneWeb, which is the second biggest satellite constellation in orbit.

While Spaceport Cornwall became the UK's first licenced spaceport, SaxaVord's licence allows it to host vertical launches rather than horizontal, where rockets are carried by aircraft.

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier

Results

UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs

Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets

Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets

Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets

Semi-finals

UAE v Qatar

Bahrain v Kuwait

 

Company%20Profile
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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

INDIA%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3ERohit%20Sharma%20(capt)%2C%20Shubman%20Gill%2C%20Cheteshwar%20Pujara%2C%20Virat%20Kohli%2C%20Ajinkya%20Rahane%2C%20KL%20Rahul%2C%20KS%20Bharat%20(wk)%2C%20Ravichandran%20Ashwin%2C%20Ravindra%20Jadeja%2C%20Axar%20Patel%2C%20Shardul%20Thakur%2C%20Mohammed%20Shami%2C%20Mohammed%20Siraj%2C%20Umesh%20Yadav%2C%20Jaydev%20Unadkat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

RESULTS

6.30pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m

Winner Canvassed, Par Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)

7.05pm Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m

Winner Dubai Future, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor

7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Mouheeb, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard

8.15pm Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

9.50pm Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

9.25pm Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m

Winner Man Of Promise, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

What are the influencer academy modules?
  1. Mastery of audio-visual content creation. 
  2. Cinematography, shots and movement.
  3. All aspects of post-production.
  4. Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
  5. Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
  6. Tourism industry knowledge.
  7. Professional ethics.
ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
'Laal Kaptaan'

Director: Navdeep Singh

Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain

Rating: 2/5

Updated: August 20, 2024, 2:31 PM`