Satellite launch site would be next to blanket bog that plays vital role in climate fight by storing carbon
A new rocket launch site has been proposed in the far north of Scotland to send small satellites into space. The plan is for a £17.3m spaceport on the A’Mhòine peninsula in Sutherland, a site chosen because it is so remote and surrounded by water and open countryside in case a rocket launch goes wrong.
But the proposed site is next to protected peatland, part of the Flow Country of northern Scotland, the largest blanket bog in Europe, estimated to store 400 million tonnes of carbon, which is vital in the fight against climate breakdown. A report this year by a team of researchers was critical of the development, saying: “The damage caused by the construction and operation of the spaceport will lead to the further destruction of this Highland ‘wild land’.”
Read More Plantwatch: plan for spaceport raises fears for Scottish peat bog