Scots space rocket pioneer dies just weeks after revealing cancer battle
REACH FOR THE STARS Scots space rocket pioneer dies just weeks after revealing cancer battle
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SCOTS space pioneer Frank Strang MBE has died aged 67 after a short battle with cancer - just months before his firm looks set to launch a rocket into orbit.
The founder of SaxaVord Spaceport, in Unst, Shetland, was diagnosed with the terminal illness earlier this year and revealed last month that doctors gave him a life expectancy of six months to two years.
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SaxaVord in Unst on the Shetland Islands.
Credit: PA
But he passed away sooner than expected, with his co-creators Scott Hammond and Debbie Strang vowing to keep his dream alive.
Frank, who had cancer of the oesophagus, lived in Grantown-on-Spey in the Highlands and was famous for his long hair and love of cowboys boots.
Scott, who is expected to take over as CEO, said: 'I have been a friend and colleague of Frank since our days together in the RAF, so his death so young is an enormous blow both personally and professionally.
'When we first identified the prospects for a spaceport at Lamba Ness in Unst, Frank would not take no for an answer and broke through barriers that would have deterred lesser people.
'He was a real force of nature, and his vision and his grit got us to where we are today, bringing the Unst and Shetland communities, investors and government with us.
'But our mission is not complete.
"My job now is to deliver not only the first launch but successive launches that establish the UK as Europe's leader in access to space.
'Both myself and the SaxaVord team feel a strong sense of responsibility to deliver that goal for Frank, and we will, I am in no doubt.
'We are determined to make the UK Europe's leader in vertical launch spaceflight.
"That will be Frank's legacy, for Shetland, for Scotland and the UK.'
UK's rocket launch site takes shape ahead of blast off later THIS year
It's believed the spaceport will be ready for a first launch later this year or early next - 17 years after Frank bought a former RAF radar station with the inntention to turn it into an eco-tourism attraction.
But the plan changed when the UK government was looking for potential sites for vertical launches of small rockets carrying satellites.
Danish billionaire and Scotland's richest man Anders Holch Povlsen has also pledged to support the project through to its completion.
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