SaxaVord Spotlight: Get to know Elizabeth Johnson
What is your job title?
External Affairs Manager
What does a day in your life look like?
What is your favourite thing about SaxaVord?
What 3 words would you use to describe saxavord?
I spend a lot of time on calls with various folk. I also go out and about to meet with people to discuss whats happening at the Spaceport and meet with visitors to the site and give tours etc. I am working on a plan for all visitors that want to watch launches to make sure the local residents are not affected.
It is a very interesting project to work on. This is a first for the UK and we get to meet a lot of very interesting people.
interesting, challenging, hectic
What does your job title mean?
It means that I deal with all sorts of folk outwith the Spaceport and speak to landowners, planning people and lots of other people on a daily basis
What job did you think you'd be doing when you finished school?
I thought that I would be living and working in Lerwick. My first job was working in an office in the local Council.
Fun Questions
Fun Questions
What is your favourite space book, film or song?
Apollo 13 film
If you were going to space what 3 things would you take?
Reading glasses, photos of family, camera to capture all the beautiful views
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My hard working parents
The LGBTQ+ Community and the Space Industry
June is Pride Month!
Pride Month is a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community—their history, achievements, and ongoing journey for equality. It's also a chance to reflect on progress made, raise awareness of challenges still faced, and honour the diversity that makes our world better.
At SaxaVord Spaceport, we’re proud to work with a diverse and inclusive team. We believe space is for everyone—including our amazing LGBTQ+ colleagues.
In this article, we’re spotlighting just a few of the inspiring LGBTQ+ people who have made a difference in the space industry, past and present.
Dr. Sally Ride (1951–2012)
Physicist | Astronaut | Author | LGBTQ+ Icon
Image Credit: NASA
Linked at bottom of the article
Sally Ride (she/her) was the first American woman in space. In 1978, she was chosen from over 8,000 applicants to join NASA—and was one of just six women selected that year. After five years of training, she flew on two missions: STS-7 and STS-41G, helping launch satellites and gather data about Earth’s climate.
Beyond space, Ride was a passionate science educator and co-wrote six children’s books with her life partner, Dr. Tam O’Shaughnessy. At the time, being openly queer could have ended her career, so she kept their relationship private. When she passed away in 2012, her family revealed the truth—making her the first known LGBTQ+ astronaut and a lasting symbol of courage and inclusion.
“Sally Ride was a physicist, educator, advocate for girls in STEM, and later recognized as a queer icon.”
— Teen Vogue
Troy Hudson
NASA Engineer | Planetary Scientist | LGBTQ+ Role Model
Image Credit: THEM
Linked at bottom of the article
Troy Hudson (he/him) is an Instrument System Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He played a major role in the InSight mission, which landed a robot on Mars to study the planet’s crust, mantle, and core.
Troy is openly gay and proudly wore a rainbow pin on the day of the InSight landing. He hopes to show young LGBTQ+ students that they belong in science too.
“While being gay has never impacted my opportunities... it is an important part of who I am. I have to actively work against its invisibility.”
— Troy Hudson, NASA
Colonel Bree Fram
Aerospace Engineer | Space Force Leader | Transgender Advocate
Image Credit: X - @BFram3
Linked at bottom of the article
Bree Fram (she/her) is an astronautical engineer, author, and a colonel in the United States Space Force. She helps plan future missions from the Pentagon and previously served 18 years in the Air Force.
She is one of the highest-ranking transgender officers in the U.S. military. Bree publicly came out in 2016—the same day a ban on transgender military service was introduced. Since then, she has become a leading voice for LGBTQ+ inclusion in defense and aerospace.
“Transgender people have always been here—we just weren’t always seen.”
— Bree Fram, breefram.com
A Shoutout to Out to Innovate
Community | Mentorship | Representation
Out to Innovate is an organisation that supports LGBTQ+ people in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM). They offer mentorship, networking, and awards to celebrate queer professionals in science—because everyone deserves to feel welcome in the lab or at mission control.
“We empower LGBTQ+ individuals in STEM through education, advocacy, and peer support.”
— Out to Innovate mission statement
So What Can We Learn This Pride Month?
Pride is more than just rainbow flags—it’s about visibility, courage, and celebration. These incredible scientists, engineers, and space leaders show that LGBTQ+ people are making history every day, on Earth and beyond.
So remember: space is for everyone. That includes you.
Written by The Fredo Team
Sources/Find out more about these incredible people
Dr Sally Ride
Troy Hudson
InSight Mission
Colonel Bree Fram
Out to Innovate
NATO Delegates Visit SaxaVord Spaceport After STARLIFT Summit!
Something amazing just happened right here at SaxaVord Spaceport!
A group of top delegates from NATO flew up to Unst to see what SaxaVord and its German rocket partner RFA are building – and it’s all to do with a big project called STARLIFT.
Wait - What's NATO?
NATO stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It’s a group of 32 countries from Europe and North America that have agreed to work together to keep each other safe. If one NATO country is in danger, the others help out. It’s kind of like a team of superheroes—but with satellites, radars, and space tech instead of capes!
Why is NATO Visiting SaxaVord?
After two important days of meetings in Edinburgh, hosted by the UK’s Department for Science, Industry and Technology, the Ministry of Defence, and the UK Space Agency, the delegates came to the northernmost tip of the UK to see space launch power in action.
So, what is STARLIFT? It’s a NATO project helping countries launch satellites quickly when needed, using commercial launch partners. Satellites can help keep us all safe – for defence, communication, and even emergency response!
SaxaVord is playing a key role. We’re the UK’s only fully licensed vertical launch spaceport. Along with RFA and other companies like HyImpulse, SaxaVord is getting ready to launch from UK soil later this year.
Frank Strang, CEO of SaxaVord, said:
“With global geopolitical uncertainty mounting, today was a great opportunity for SaxaVord and RFA to show the NATO Starlift delegates what we have built here and brief them on our future plans.
Space as a domain has an ever-increasing role to play in keeping us secure and protecting our economies, and the UK and Europe have an asset in SaxaVord and partners like RFA that can help defend our combined interests.”
Daniel Hilgert, NATO’s Senior Space Coordinator, said:
“Through the STARLIFT programme, Allies are exploring novel mechanisms to harness innovation in the commercial launch market, allowing for faster responses to security and defence needs in the space domain.”
Peter Kyle, UK Science and Technology Secretary, added:
“We have been working to bolster the UK’s ability to launch into space so that we can boost our collective security both domestically and for our allies as well as grow the UK’s space industry and the British economy, as part of our Plan for Change.
This event at SaxaVord was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the progress being made towards launch from UK soil, as the spaceport prepares for its first launches with companies such as RFA and Orbex.”
The UK and Germany have already promised to work more closely together in defence, through the Trinity House Agreement. This visit shows just how serious that partnership is — and that SaxaVord is right at the centre of it all.
From Unst to outer space… NATO knows SaxaVord is ready.
Stay tuned, Unstronauts — launch day is coming soon!
Written by The Fredo Team
Image Credits
Paul Riddell
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Fredo Explains
Fredo Explains
In the first episode of Fredo Explains!, Fredo the Unstronaut explores what makes a spaceport so special. From launchpads to control rooms, Fredo shows how SaxaVord Spaceport helps rockets blast off into space—and how it supports missions that do good for our planet. It’s like an airport, but for rockets! Get ready to learn, laugh, and launch with Fredo in this fun intro to the world of spaceports!
Ask an Unstronaut
Ask an Unstronaut
In the very first episode of Ask an Unstronaut, Fredo receives a brilliant question from Grace (and her sausage dog, Nova!) all about Mars missions! Grace wants to know if SaxaVord Spaceport will ever send probes to the Red Planet — and Fredo’s got the answer, along with some fun facts about rockets, satellites, and what the future might hold for spaceports like SaxaVord. Could you be the one to help launch the first Shetland mission to Mars?
Get in Touch
Want to ask an Unstronaut a question?
You will be able to send in your questions really soon! Fredo cannot wait to hear from you so keep coming up with ideas and we'll let you know when he's ready!