Further to WAQ76948 will the Cabinet Secretary explain when an announcement should be made about Welsh Government enquiries relating to the horizontal launch at Llanbedr airfield, and state how much money has been set aside for matters relating to the project?
Officials continue to engage with the UK Space Agency following the announcement of a new UK Government £2m development fund for potential horizontal launch spaceport sites across Britain to explore further the potential for sub-orbital flight, satellite launch and spaceplane operations. We await further detail expected later in the year, to ascertain how this funding could support space related developments at the Llanbedr site, which forms part of the Snowdonia Enterprise Zone.
Meanwhile, we have already supported investment undertaken at the Llanbedr site to enhance the site infrastructure and to establish an Initial Operating Capability for Unmanned Aircraft Systems.