Orbex assures community that rocket launch test site will not generate enough noise or vibration to disturb

A SPACE rocket manufacturer has assured residents that its test site at Kinloss is unlikely to cause disturbance.

Last month, Forres Enterprise Park-based Orbex set up 40-tonne launchpad Orbex LP1 on Ministry of Defence land at Kinloss Barracks in order to complete dress rehearsal launch procedures for their Prime rocket.

At February’s meeting of Forres Community Council, former RAF serviceman, Steve Ferris, queried whether testing might cause excessive noise or vibrations.

He said: “I want to clarify what noise would be generated by a hot engine run at the test facility ... I wonder if people outwith the site would hear and feel it when the test bed was fired up?”

Orbex Prime is a micro-launcher designed to transport small satellites weighing around 150kg to low Earth orbit. It will eventually launch from Space Hub Sutherland at the Moine near Tongue.

Last June, Moray Council granted planning permission to “allow testing of fuel and pressure vessels to include wet dress rehearsals and static hot fire tests together with an extension to the existing site boundary and siting of associated structures and equipment at Kinloss Barracks.”

Steve said: “I spoke to Moray Council leader Graham Leadbitter and he provided me with the details of the planning application. A noise management plan details the sound pressure levels at 1.35km out to 2.10km from the test facility. At the closer range max decibels is 82 and at 2.10 it is assessed to be down to 69 decibels, which is about the noise of a hair dryer! To put that into context, according to Google, a Typhoon aircraft on full reheat pushes out 175db - every 3db is a doubling or halving of the sound pressure level. So there is nothing to worry about even in Findhorn let alone Forres.”

A spokesperson for Moray Council confirmed no complaints have been received by the Environmental Health team in relation to the facility.

Findhorn and Kinloss Community Council chairwoman Anne Skene was given a tour of the site by Orbex CEO Chris Larmour.

She said: “We talked about their proposed communication strategy with local communities. I am assured that noise generation will be for very limited periods of time and advance notification will be sent to local groups. I expect the noise disturbance to be significantly less than that experienced when aircraft were regularly in action at Kinloss.”

An Orbex spokesman confirmed the company is in regular contact with local groups to ensure that the community is aware of their activities.

He said: “The site is hosting a test launchpad that will allow Orbex engineers to test essential launch procedures and equipment. The vast majority of these tests are silent in nature. In limited cases, such as the testing of engines, Orbex has been required to outline measures to mitigate the impact of noise. These include limiting testing to certain times (weekday, daytime hours), providing advance notifications, and monitoring of noise levels.”

He added: “Operations at Kinloss will not cause any disruption and no rockets will be launched from the test site.”