Ramblings of a 70-year old: scotland

Monday, October 31, 2022

Britain selects a remote peat bog in Scotland to be the first rocket launch pad on the British mainland

Scottish Crofters own the site situated on the A' Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland, north-west Scotland. It would see up to 12 launches annually and the rockets would lift off vertically from the ground. The authorities view this location as an ideal one to launch satellites into an orbit that takes them over the north and south poles. The first launch could be as soon as next year and this spaceport will augment the launch capability for the UK satellite industry. The present system for manufacturers is to send their spacecraft to foreign destinations for launch. However, the countdown right now is for the first 'horizontal' launch at Spaceport Cornwall later this month. That is when a jumbo jet would take off from Newquay Airport. There would be a rocket under its wing for release and firing over the Atlantic Ocean. Remote Scottish peat bog to become British mainland's first 'traditional' rocket launchpad. Spacehub at Sutherland will provide another launch option.

The Scottish rocket manufacturer Orbex will invest £20m to build and operate the spaceport and hold a 50-year lease. The project would create employment opportunities and provide a significant boost in an area where the economic prospects are limited for young people. Dorothy Pritchard is chair of the Melness Crofters' Estate, which represents the community. She said - "We have seen massive population decline in the area over the past few years and our community is being starved of its lifeblood, young people. This is our way - perhaps a less-than-obvious way - of bringing new life back to our area. We are excited for the positive impact this will have on our community over the coming years." Orbex says it would build the world's most environmentally friendly space rocket. It would have a 3D-printed engine, a re-useable structure and a clean-burning propane fuel derived from vegetable waste. In the words of Chris Larmour, the company's chief executive – “Orbex is the first European launcher company to also manage a dedicated spaceport. It is an important competitive advantage to the company, which will make it really easy for us to work with customers as we scale up our operations."

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Climate change a matter of concern for the security of Britain

Britain is worried. Its national security appears on shaky ground. This is believed to be a fallout of the failure of the government. A parliamentary report cautions that the reasons for such a situation could be attributed extreme weather events caused by climate change. The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy consists of senior MPs and peers. It has urged the government to take control of the major security risks posed by the effects of climate change on critical national infrastructure. These include power, transport, water and communications. The world of today depends heavily on these factors. The report highlight salient issues of the recent past that could be pointers on possible repercussions in future. A few of these are – (i) loss of power to millions in parts of England and Scotland during Storm Arwen in November 2021 due to downing of power lines (ii) loss of lives in Scotland due to derailment of a train in August 2020 and (iii) heatwave of July 2022 when temperatures rose to 104F in the U.K. UK security in danger as govt fails to prepare for extreme weather sparked by climate change - report. The report mentions about finding "overwhelming evidence" that climate change is already having an impact on UK infrastructure and that "no minister has been taking responsibility" for adapting it.

The report follows a series of extreme weather events in recent years. It reveals an "extreme weakness at the centre of government." Moreover, the committee hauls up the ministers of "a severe dereliction of duty" and stresses that "even more severe weather - and consequent impacts - will be prevalent soon." These observations leads the experts to predict that high temperatures are likely to give rise to issues like sagging of electricity cables, softening of roads and increase in the frequency of flooding. These, in turn, might result in frequent failure of railway embankments. Chair of the Joint Committee, Labour MP Dame Margaret Beckett, said Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister “must pull all the strands of government together to mitigate against potential disasters… This government must finally recognise that prevention is better than cure and move on from their dangerously reactive approach to risk management."