'Biased' research criticised by rocket company boss

A paper claiming Shetland is better suited to host a spaceport is being labelled biased after it emerged a named researcher is also a member of Melness protest group Protect the Mhoine.

The study 'Satelittes to Suthlerland - not quite coals to Newcastle!' claims Shetland has better infrastructure which makes it better suited to hosting a spaceport launch site, that the number of jobs it would bring to the area are lower than initially claimed, and that Highland roads would struggle to cope with more congestion from lorries transporting materials to Sutherland.

The authors named on the paper are Professor Mike Danson from Heriott Watt University, Professor Geoff Whittam from Glasgow Caledonian University, and independent researcher Janette Wyper.

But Janette Wyper is also a member of Protect the Mhoine, a campaign group opposing the spaceport being built in Sutherland, and has spoken out against the plans in the past.

Orbex is the company working with HIE to built the site in Sutherland.

MFR News spoke to Orbex CEO Chris Larmour following the paper being published, and he described it as 'biased research':

'I think it is telling that they didn't contact us to ask what jobs we were proposing to put onto that site. And if they had, we would have told them we are looking at jobs that include finance, administration, maintainence, electronics, electrics, mechanical systems, fueling systems, security, logistics, a whole range of jobs that would be very welcome in that region.

'I think there is an air of desperation in some of their arguments, and I think if they're successful they will hurt the economic opportunity that's available for that region, and potentially destroy it completely. I think they are very damaging to the local economy.

'We stated quite clearly that those roads have been studied in detail, there is a very long 90 page report on almost every every corner and bridge and junction on those roads. Our particular rocket can be carried in a single 40ft container, it weighs 1.5 tonnes which is less than a Mini Cooper.

'We have done a lot of work locally, we have already invested more than £2million in the region, we have purchased the factory, we are hiring staff daily, and we certainly plans to put many good jobs up on the Mhoine.'