Colorado-based LEAP has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to develop recurring launch operations at Sutherland Spaceport in northern Scotland, which would mark the company’s first launch location outside the U.S. and its base for European customers.
LEAP builds mass-producible launch vehicles for a logistics network designed to move critical payloads anywhere on Earth within minutes, and to carry small satellites into orbit. Operations at Sutherland would begin with its Bullfrog vehicle before progressing to Bighorn suborbital, point-to-point and orbital missions.
“We’re not just building a rocket. We’re building a global logistics network, and a network needs launch sites wherever customers require them,” said CEO Chris Beckman.
The MOU is non-binding, and any launches remain subject to technical assessment, regulatory approval and final commercial agreements. It nonetheless signals that LEAP is strongly considering the UK for its European headquarters, with talks extending to manufacturing, testing, supply chain partnerships, local recruitment and university collaboration in the Highlands and Islands.
How LEAP plans to operate
LEAP’s model departs from the industry norm of concentrating operations at a few large launch sites. The company pairs mass-produced vehicles with modular factories and transportable launch equipment, allowing it to add capacity where demand exists. Each factory is designed to build more than 30 vehicles a year.
Bullfrog made its first flight in May from the Friends of Amateur Rocketry pad in Mojave, California, reaching about 40 kilometres, the limit set by the range. The rocket flew less than 30 hours after arriving on site.
LEAP is targeting 2028 for Bighorn’s first orbital flight.
The company first announced its UK ambitions at Space-Comm Glasgow in 2025. It has since held talks with the UK Space Agency, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Scottish Government, and visited prospective sites in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Machrihanish and Inverness.
A second chance for Sutherland
The agreement revives a project that stalled earlier this year. Orbex, the site’s original operator, halted construction in December 2024 and entered administration in February after receiving more than £70 million ($94 million USD) in public funding. HIE bought the spaceport’s assets from liquidators in August.
“This MOU with LEAP is a significant step forward for the site,” said David Oxley, HIE’s director of strategic projects.
Stephen Flynn, Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, described the deal as “good news for Scotland’s space sector.”
Meanwhile, Dorothy Pritchard, chair of landowner Melness Crofters Estate, said LEAP recognizes “that a successful spaceport will create opportunities beyond launches alone.”
Europe’s launch shortfall
The deal comes as Europe confronts a growing gap between satellite demand and available rockets. In September, EU Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius warned that launch capacity is falling behind, with EU programmes alone expected to require 62 launches by 2034. Ariane is planned to fly ten times a year, yet the EU projects it will need 14 Ariane launches in 2031.
Industry reports the same pressure. Valentin Benoit, CEO of French rideshare firm RIDE!, told Via Satellite that capacity is scarce and launch prices are unlikely to fall.
The UK has yet to host a vertical launch. SaxaVord in Shetland holds the country’s only full vertical spaceport licence, and Rocket Factory Augsburg moved its RFA One rocket to the pad there in July, but its maiden flight has been delayed. Across the North Sea, Isar Aerospace recently completed the first commercial launch from European soil, from Andøya in Norway.
Space Scotland CEO Dr. Natasha Nicholson said the partnership “could deliver real economic value” for communities in the Highlands and Islands.
Featured image: Kurt Cotoaga via Unsplash+
