Fife has been urged to boldly go where no other region has gone and seize the chance to host Europe’s first spaceport.
The government has invited potential candidates to submit proposals for the out-of-this-world facility, with the former RAF base at Leuchars still very much in the running as one of six shortlisted hopefuls.
In the week that UK astronaut Tim Peake made his landmark flight to the International Space Station, Fife Council and its partners have been urged to do all they can to bring the project to the kingdom.
The Courier understands a major conference is to be held next year that will look at the opportunities and challenges associated with the establishment of a dedicated spaceport in the UK, with campaigners urging Fife to be represented.
The Department of Transport (DoT) is working on the specification of what it wants a spaceport to be. That is due to be published before the end of the year, with the aim being to launch tourists into space by 2018.
The spaceport prospect was raised by East Neuk and Landward councillor Elizabeth Riches, who called on council chief executive Steve Grimmond to ensure a delegation is sent to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Space Group’s conference on February 3.
“The MoD say that Leuchars is still being considered as a possible site so I think we should be sending someone to the conference,” she said.
“Leuchars is still in the frame and I’m pushing for Fife to go and make a pitch because it is something we should be supporting. Yes, there will be jobs and, yes, there will be tourism, but there will also be specialist jobs and it will be really good for education in the region as well.”
The UK government has previously concluded that “military operational considerations” mean the former RAF base at Leuchars could not be a permanent home for commercial spaceflight operation, although it stressed Leuchars could yet be a temporary site.
Unlike airfields at RAF Lossiemouth and Kinloss, Leuchars was not ruled out altogether due to its “good transport connections”. The Civil Aviation Authority’s other shortlisted sites are Campbeltown, Prestwick and Stornoway north of the border, as well as Newquay in England and Llanbedr Airport in Wales.
A final decision on the chosen site is expected at some point in 2016.