Where will European rockets launch from?

Image: Orbex Prime rocket launching into space Credit: Orbex

Europe’s predicament

Europe has a fundamental problem. Its geography. If you look at an image of Europe, you can look for certain things that are required for launching a rocket into LEO:

- No nearby population

- East facing ocean/large land mass with no population

- Near equator

Turns out, Europe has very little of these requirements.

The solution

Polar and Sun Synchronous orbits! These orbits require northern/southern launches, meaning Europe can actually satisfy launch requirements!

The cherry on top is that these orbits usually require little to no horizontal velocity, which Europe is perfectly situated for.

Requirements

So, what are the requirements for a Polar/SSO launch?

- Little population northern/southern of where you are launching.

- Generally higher up the better.

Since Earth is a sphere, it spins at different speeds on different parts of the planet.

For reference:
- Sutherland, Scotland has a horizontal spin speed of 870km/h.
- Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, has a horizontal spin speed of 1370km/h.

Generally, for Polar and SSO launches, the more eastward velocity you have, the more you have to work to counteract that velocity. This makes Europe perfect for Polar/SSO orbits since we have less eastward velocity than places closer to the equator.

Potential European launch locations

Now let’s have a look at suitable launch locations.

Scotland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland seem like perfect launching locations since they are all northern, north facing oceans, and all are non-densely populated.

But just because they are in prime locations doesn’t mean their government has acted on it.

Actual European launch locations

As of 2024, this is the list of European spaceports, descending from most northern:

- Esrange Space Center – Kiruna, Sweden

- Andøya Space Center – Andøya, Norway

- SaxaVord Spaceport - Shetland Islands, Scotland, UK

- Sutherland Spaceport - Sutherland, Scotland, UK

- Spaceport Snowdonia - Snowdonia, Wales, UK

- Cornwall Spaceport – Cornwall, England, UK

Important clarifications:

- Sutherland Spaceport is currently under construction.

- Snowdonia has considered upgrading but currently cannot support orbital class missions.

- Cornwall Spaceport is mainly for horizontal launches.

Conclusion

Europe has an incredible future in the Polar and SSO launch markets. Thanks to companies like RFA, Skyrora, Orbex, and more, we will finally become a space competitive continent.

If you would like to read an article all about RFA. Read here: RFA - The Automotive Approach to Rockets