Connect with us

Published

on

A remote peat bog owned by Scottish crofters is to become the first ‘traditional’ rocket launchpad on the British mainland.

The site, on the A’ Mhoine peninsula in Sutherland, north-west Scotland, will see up to 12 launches a year, with rockets lifting off vertically from the ground.

The location is seen as ideal for launching satellites into an orbit that takes them over the north and south poles. The first launch could be as soon as next year.

The spaceport will strengthen the launch capability for the UK satellite industry.

Until now manufacturers have had to ship their spacecraft abroad for launch.

But the countdown is underway for the first ‘horizontal’ launch at Spaceport Cornwall later this month, with a jumbo jet taking off from Newquay Airport carrying a rocket under its wing. The rocket will be released and fired over the Atlantic Ocean.

Spacehub Sutherland will provide another launch option. The Scottish rocket manufacturer Orbex will build and operate the spaceport, investing £20m in the construction under a 50-year lease.

More from Science & Tech

Around 40 jobs are expected to be created on the site, a significant boost in an area with poor economic prospects for young people.

Big Ideas Live 2022
Image:
Big Ideas Live 2022

For more on science and technology, explore the future with Sky News at Big Ideas Live 2022.
Find out more and book tickets here

Read more:
How the UK is about to send its first rocket into space
What you need to know about the billionaire space race
Why did NASA crash a spacecraft into a harmless asteroid?

Dorothy Pritchard, chair of the Melness Crofters’ Estate, which represents the community, 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.”

Night at Orbex Prime at Kinloss test stand. Pic: Orbex
Image:
Orbex Prime at Kinloss test stand. Pic: Orbex

Orbex is building what it says is the world’s most environmentally friendly space rocket, with a 3D-printed engine, a re-useable structure and a clean-burning propane fuel derived from vegetable waste.

Chris Larmour, the company’s chief executive, said: “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.”

Continue Reading

UK

Child dies and another injured after car driven on to sports pitch

Published

on

By

Child dies and another injured after car driven on to sports pitch

A child has died and another has been injured after a car was driven on to a sports pitch in Cumbria.

Police say they were called at 4.58pm to reports of a collision involving a BMW i40 and two children on a pitch at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club on Shap Road, in Kendal.

Cumbria Police say one child died, while the second is being treated by paramedics.

A man aged in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: “Specialist investigators are at the scene and the area has been cordoned off as initial investigation enquiries take place.”

The force said the incident was not believed to be terror-related. Immediate family members of both children have been informed, it added.

In a post on its Facebook page, the club said it was “deeply saddened to confirm that an incident occurred today at Kendal Rugby Club.”

The post, attributed to club chairman Dr Stephen Green, continued: “Our thoughts are with their family and friends and we kindly ask for privacy for all involved at this difficult time.”

The club and its facilities are now temporarily closed while it cooperates “fully” with authorities, it added.

More from Sky News:
Serial rapist jailed for 15 years
Gardener wins court case over £1m prize

Tim Farron MP, whose constituency includes Kendal, posted on X: “This is devastating, utterly heartbreaking news. I’m praying for the children and for their families and friends.

“Our community in Kendal is stunned and in mourning.”

Continue Reading

UK

PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China

Published

on

By

PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China

A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.

Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.

Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences

He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.

Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Moment police arrest student guilty of rape

The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.

He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.

***ONLY USE IF HE IS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST TWO RAPES*** The trial heard Zou kept a 'lost property box' full of women's belongings. Pic: Met Police
Image:
The trial heard Zou kept a ‘lost property box’ full of women’s belongings. Pic: Met Police

The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.

Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.

***ONLY USE IF HE IS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST TWO RAPES*** A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police
Image:
A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police

Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.

The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.

Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.

“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.

“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.

“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”

Continue Reading

UK

James Scott Rhys Anderson: British man who ‘fought for Ukraine’ jailed for 19 years in Russia

Published

on

By

James Scott Rhys Anderson: British man who 'fought for Ukraine' jailed for 19 years in Russia

A British man has been jailed for 19 years after a Russian court found him guilty of fighting for Ukraine in the country’s Kursk region.

James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, had been charged with terrorist and mercenary offences and was found guilty after a closed trial.

The court said he was to serve the first five years of his sentence in prison and the remainder in a penal colony.

In the trial, a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit was questioned as a witness.

Ukrainian troops broke across the border into Kursk region on 6 August last year.

They still hold some territory there seven months later, despite attempts by Russian forces to force them out.

Investigators accused Anderson of illegally crossing into Kursk in November as part of an armed group that committed unspecified “criminal acts against civilians”.

Russian state media published video showing him being led in handcuffs and locked in a cage of the kind where defendants in Russian court cases are placed.

Read more:
Ukraine war latest: ‘US stops sharing intelligence’
‘Long-range drone strikes weakening Russia’s combat ability’

It apparently showed Anderson saying he had served in the British army from 2019-2023 before deciding to join the foreign legion of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Early on in the war, Ukraine’s authorities said more than 20,000 people from 52 countries came to Ukraine’s aid.

Since then, the number of foreign fighters in Ukraine’s military has been classified.

Continue Reading

Trending