Space / Strang to step back from spaceport after receiving terminal cancer diagnosis
THE FOUNDER and driving force behind the SaxaVord Spaceport is “stepping back but not down” from his role after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Frank Strang has been told by doctors that he has a life expectancy of between six months and two years.
In typical upbeat style he said he was determined to fight these “statistics” to come out at the other end.
He said he was hopeful to be present for what could be the first orbital rocket launch from UK soil now expected to happen in November of this year.
Speaking to Shetland News on Thursday, the 67-year-old said the future of the spaceport was in good hands with a highly capable management team and very supportive investors.
Reflecting on his health, Strang said he had been struggling eating over past months.
An endoscopy a few weeks ago discovered a tumour in his oesophagus (gullet) which was found to be cancerous and had also spread to the lungs.
“I am going to step back but not down,” he said. “If I step down that would probably kill me before the cancer does.
“The spaceport has been my life; it has come at a high personal cost over the years.
“But I need to focus on buying some time and getting my health back, so my team will be jumping in and carrying on, and I will still be involved as much as I can.
“Yes, I was the founder and, yes, it’s my vision – but that has all been overtaken.”
Ever since Strang realised that the SaxaVord camp he and his then wife Debbie had bought from the MoD was situated next to an area named by the UK Space Agency as the preferred site for the country’s first vertical satellite launches, he has been working day and night to turn the idea into reality.
Smirked at initially by many doubters, the proposal for a commercial spaceport had to overcome countless hurdles and obstacles since first mooted in 2017 and would, perhaps, never have become a reality had Strang not been the driving force behind it.
“Up until now I have been the face and the mouthpiece, but the spaceport and the business has outgrown me,” he said on Thursday.
“We are there now – we got our licences, we got our clients, we got incredible support from our investor group, in particular Anders Holch Povlsen of Heartland, but other investors too…we are now getting support from government and the big banks.
“What our team has done over the years is nothing short of miraculous. People around the world are starting to believe that Shetland is part of the space economy.”
German company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) is confident it could become the first to successfully launch a rocket from the UK’s only licensed vertical spaceport, with the firm planning another test flight during a five-week window at the end of the year.
Strang added that he had chosen to go public with his personal news to prevent rumours and to stay in charge of the narrative.
“In some ways my job is done,” Strang said. “I would like to play a role going forward, obviously, but I don’t want rumours of my demise to undermine the spaceport.
“It is business as usual. There is a huge amount of positivity about the spaceport, and there is no need to worry from an investors’ perspective.
“And I am not throwing in the towel. It’s not in my DNA, but I need to step back.”
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