Sweden signs up for “mainland Europe’s” stairway to space – EURACTIV.com
Swedish and EU officials on Friday (13 December) cut the ribbon for a future space rocket center at Esrange, in Sweden’s deep north, expressing hopes that European rockets would start launching satellites from Swedish soil as early as next year.
King Carl XVI Gustaf together with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson inaugurated what was presented as a new spaceport that would significantly reshape the European space landscape.
The ceremony coincided with the inauguration of the Swedish presidency of the Council of the EU, which took place in Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost city, located 145 km north of the Arctic Circle.
Esrange, about four miles east of Kiruna, has been a base for scientific research with, among other things, high-altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches and satellite tracking.
The EU has a rocket launch center in Kourou, French Guiana, so Esrange’s future center was presented as “Europe’s first satellite launch complex”. The center benefits from an area of 5,200 square kilometers, which the host said was twice the size of the territory of EU member Luxembourg.
Although Esrange is in pole position as the first mainland European launch facility to be completed, there do not seem to be many companies queuing up to start operations from the facility.
ArianeGroup is reportedly the only company currently planning to launch from Esrange. The European rocket maker is reportedly completing the first jump tests of its Themis reusable booster demonstrator there.
“It’s a big moment for Europe. It’s a big moment for Europe’s space industry. […] This spaceport offers an independent European gateway to space. This is exactly the infrastructure we need, not only to continue to innovate but also to further explore the final frontier,” von der Leyen said in her speech.
About 60 Brussels-based journalists invited to the Swedish Presidency’s inaugural press trip saw an empty hangar where an exhibition was set up. However, there was little evidence of future space launches.
More than 600 suborbital rockets have already been launched from Esrange. Although these rockets can reach space at heights of 260 kilometers, they have so far not been able to orbit the Earth.
Against the backdrop of Russian aggression against Ukraine, the importance of Europe’s own ability to launch rockets and satellites has become a priority.
Esrange is not alone in the race. Other European locations such as Portugal’s Azores archipelago, Norway’s Andoya Island, Spain’s Andalucia and the UK, among others, are all vying to be Europe’s gateway to space.
“We have big plans for this year, but we don’t want to reveal them,” European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher told the press. He hinted that more information would be revealed on January 23, and mentioned another space meeting in Seville in November.
Stefan Gustafsson, chief strategist for the Swedish Space Agency, spoke to reporters about cyber security as an increasingly important part of the EU’s critical infrastructure.
Against the backdrop of Russian cyberattacks on February 24 against a satellite communications system operated by Viasat, which disrupted communications in Ukraine just as Russian troops invaded, Gustafsson argued that the war had become an eye-opener for the EU to realize the importance of space.
He explained that current technology, which allowed anyone to buy satellite imagery online, had changed the game in warfare because, in his words, only “superpowers” previously had access to such information.
He said the EU had to fill the gap because previously 20 to 30 of the European satellites have been launched thanks to Russian technology and launch vehicles. As for his own company, SSC, he said it was not really affected because it had no direct ties to Russia.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]