The Government has unveiled the short-list of locations for the UK’s first space-port.

Eight sites across the UK are being considered by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) — six of them in Scotland. It is proposed that the space-port, which will be the first of its kind outside the USA and is forecast to be fully operational by 2018, will be used as a base for tourists taking ‘space-planes’, as a launch site for commercial satellites and as a space research centre.

The eight sites are: Stornoway airport, Kinloss Barracks, RAF Lossiemouth, RAF Leuchars, Glasgow Prestwick airport, Campbeltown airport, Llanbder airport in Wales and Newquay airport in Cornwall.

UKSA chief executive David Parker said: “We are looking for somewhere that is going to create real economic benefit for the UK, bringing new jobs and opportunities. A space-port will open up the UK space tourism industry to specialist operators such as Virgin Galactic and X-Cor, but it also paves the way for future technologies that will help to make Britain ‘the place for space’.”

The plan is to build the space-port at a remote site with not much regular airline traffic. The site also needs a longer-than-average runway or the room to build one.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Space is big business for the UK. It already contributes £11.3 billion to the economy each year, supporting nearly 35,000 jobs. That’s why it’s important for us to prepare for new launcher technology and take steps towards meeting our ambition of establishing the first British space-port by 2018.”

The UK space industry has grown by 7.2% in the past two years, according to official figures, providing employment for 34,000 people. The Government is targeting revenues of £40 billion a year — 10% of the expected global market — by 2030.

The day after the eight locations were revealed, the US aerospace and defence group Lockheed Martin announced that it is to set up a space office at the UK Space Gateway in Harwell, near Oxford.