Tributes to Shetland space port founder Frank Strang

Frank Strang has died at the age of 67

Frank Strang, the driving force behind Shetland's space port, has died at the age of 67.

Mr Strang bought a former RAF radar station on Unst about 17 years ago and considered turning 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.

Last month Mr Strang announced that he was taking a "step back" from the project after being diagnosed with terminal cancer of the oesophagus.

Mr Strang had earlier told how he had been given a life expectancy of six months to two years.

The former RAF officer, who lived in Grantown-on-Spey in the Highlands, said last month: "I feel a bit like I've been hit by a steam train."

But he added: "We've all seen stories of people who have been diagnosed with a few months and five or six years later they are still going.

"The bottom line is we don't know what the end result will be."

Mr Strang had said his "incredible team" would continue his legacy.

Skyrora hopes to launch from the Shetland spaceport up to 16 times a year by 2030

SaxaVord UK Space Port - the first fully licensed vertical launch site in Europe - led tributes to it's "pioneering" chief executive.

Co-founder Scott Hammond said Mr Strang's death was an "enormous blow both personally and professionally".

He added: "When we first identified the prospects for a spaceport 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."

Mr Hammond said the company's mission was not complete.

He added: "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."

Earlier this month, a Scottish company became the first UK-based rocket firm to receive a space launch licence.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) licence allows Skyrora to launch from SaxaVord.

If a future launch is successful, the company could become the first British company to manufacture and launch a rocket into space from the UK.

The Edinburgh-based company and the CAA described it as a "huge milestone".