Hopes that a North Wales site could be developed into the UK’s first spaceport took a blow today following the release of an influential report.

The study identified Shetland as the “ideal location” for satellite launches in Britain, potentially offering a huge injection of investment onto the island.

However Aerospace Wales, which produced a joint Space Strategy with the Welsh Government in 2015, said the report was not make or break and that the Llanbedr entry was pressing ahead.

It was estimated that, if successful, the spaceport, which is close to Shell Island , would generate £4.2m of income and create around 170 jobs.

But John Whalley, of Aerospace Wales, said that it was far from over and that the Welsh plans could still become a reality - with a number of UK and international parties expressing an interest.

Llanbedr airfield, Gwynedd
Llanbedr airfield, Gwynedd

The chief executive, said that little in the Sceptre report, which was part-funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, came as a surprise.

Singling out Saxa Vord on the north of the island it states: “The site offering the maximum payload mass to orbit is Saxavord in the Shetlands [sic], from where direct launch is possible to both SSO [Sun-Synchronous] and Polar orbits.”

Regulations dictate that spacecraft do not fly over “populated areas” and the north of Unst would give satellite launchers a clear, unobstructed route into orbit.

Other locations, the report says, would require “dog-leg turns” restricting payload size or carrying capacity of a rocket.

Unst-based Shetland Space Centre said it has already had expressions of interest from commercial firms and the military and looks set to prove “major new sector” for the local economy.

But Mr Whalley said: “The physics was known when we bid, so it is not telling us anything we did not know. We are in an ongoing discussions with the UK Space Agency.

“A draft spaceport bill is still going through Parliament and that will decide if there will be an operator or operators, meanwhile the Welsh government is looking at how they can support an operation in Wales.”

He said Team Wales - Snowdonia Aerospace Centre and Qinetiq which placed several bids for Llanbedr with different partners - still had a number of interested commercial parties in the UK and internationally interested in using Llanbedr both as a potential satellite launch pad and hub for space tourism.

He added: “There is no reason the whole things can not be done of a commercial basis. Llanbedr is a remote airfield which is essential for this project but our big USP is that it has a segregated airspace.

"Whatever the outcome of the UKSA competition the Llanbedr team are pressing ahead."

Mr Whalley added that although the plans faced some objections it offered a potential for a great deal of local employment: “Snowdonia is not just a pleasure park for people from Cheshire there is a need to provide jobs for local people.”

Frank Strang, director of the Shetland Space Centre said: “From the report and our discussions with experts in the field, it is clear that the former Ministry of Defence aerial farm north of Saxa Vord hill, or the old MoD site at Lamba Ness, would be ideal for satellite launches.”

UKSA are doing a "Launch UK" roadshow over the next few weeks with a session scheduled in Cardiff on December 5. This will provide an update on their current thinking on the development of an independent UK satellite launch capability and encouragement to a wide range of companies to get involved in the industry