spacetoday.net: Lockheed Martin selects ABL for UK launch

Posted: Sun, Feb 14, 2021, 9:33 AM ET (1433 GMT)
Lockheed Martin has selected ABL Space Systems to carry out a launch from the United Kingdom next year. Lockheed said ABL will perform the UK Pathfinder launch in 2022 from Shetland Space Centre, a proposed commercial launch site. Lockheed received a $31 million award from the UK Space Agency in 2018 for the launch, part of the government's initiative to develop a domestic launch capability, but Lockheed hadn't selected the company to perform the launch until now. Lockheed is an investor in ABL, and said that the company's small launch vehicle under development is a good fit because of its ability to perform launches with limited on-site infrastructure. ABL plans to perform the first launch of its RS1 rocket in the second quarter of this year from California.