{"id":938,"date":"2023-09-30T02:57:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-30T02:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/?p=938"},"modified":"2023-10-04T22:01:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T22:01:22","slug":"hidden-in-the-arctic-sweden-is-quietly-winning-europes-next-big-space-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/2023\/09\/30\/hidden-in-the-arctic-sweden-is-quietly-winning-europes-next-big-space-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden in the Arctic, Sweden is quietly winning Europe\u2019s next big space race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sweden is leading in a battle to be the first European space base outside Russia to launch a satellite into orbit<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

F<\/strong>irst place is \u201cnice but it\u2019s not necessary\u201d, says Stefan Gustafsson, a senior official at the Sweden<\/a> Space Corporation (SSC), with a telling chortle. \u201cOther actors are more aiming to be first. Naturally, I think we will be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was an unconvincing show of magnanimity. There is a space race on, a British rival has already spectacularly fallen<\/a> by the wayside, and the Swedes have every intention of winning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the vast forests of royal green pine and yellowing birch trees in the northernmost part of Sweden \u2013 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle \u2013 lies the Esrange space center, a cluster of isolated buildings, concrete launching pads and a scattering of 30-plus large antennae dishes facing into the sky like so many begging bowls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The understated base, a 40-minute drive east from the similarly unprepossessing mining town of Kiruna, has been operating here in the wilderness since 1966, contributing to the international wealth of scientific research by blasting \u201csounding\u201d rockets into suborbit, launching large balloons into the stratosphere and picking up and processing data from above.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A
A model of a \u2018sounding\u2019 rocket is placed in the centre of Kiruna. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand\/AFP\/Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Once owned by the European Space and Research Organisation, rebadged in 1975 as the European Space Agency, it is today the property of the SSC, a company wholly owned by the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has a worthy history in atmospheric, ionospheric and micro-gravity research but not one, perhaps, to set the pulses racing. The small visitors\u2019 centre is empty. It is more Center Parcs than Kennedy Space<\/a> Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But look at the pace at which the few members of staff on the base are doing their work, and listen to the hum of conversation. Then there\u2019s the whir and crash of diggers lumbering stone around the secure zone before the heavy winter snow falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New launch pads are being finalised, complicated liquid-fuel handling systems prepared, and a giant two-hall hangar, not dissimilar in appearance to a medium-sized Ikea, has been erected on the outer periphery of the base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Swedish space centre is leading the pack in a fiercely competitive battle to be the first European base outside Russia from which a satellite is launched into orbit. Technological advances and the emergence of micro-rockets have made it possible. A cast of aspirants to be Europe\u2019s \u201cfirst\u201d are gearing up.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"And\u00f8ya
Another frontrunner in the European scramble includes the And\u00f8ya space centre in Norway. Photograph: US Marines\/Zuma Press Wire Service\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Other frontrunners in the European scramble include the And\u00f8ya space centre in Norway and the UK\u2019s SaxaVord rocket base in Unst, Shetland, with others further back in the pack in Iceland, Portugal\u2019s Azores and Spain\u2019s Andalusia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last 18 months in Ukraine have added extra urgency to efforts. \u201cOne of the problems that was rapidly obvious after the start of the Ukraine war was the lack of launching capability for Europe, heavily dependent on Russia and Baikonur [the Russian launch base in Kazakhstan], and also technical collaboration between the European space agency and Russia,\u201d said Gustafsson, 65, a vice-president for strategy at the SSC who previously held a senior role in the Swedish military. \u201cWhen the sanctions came in, we had a gap and still have a gap in launching capabilities. We really want to cover that gap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of capacity has emerged at a time when there has been an exponential increase in the number of satellite launches globally. In 2022, there were an estimated 6,905 active satellites orbiting Earth \u2013 an increase of 2,105 on the previous year. It is estimated 50 satellites are being launched every week to cater for telecommunications, internet infrastructure, Earth observation capabilities and national security demands. About 18,500 small satellites are expected to be launched between 2022 and 2031, compared with 4,600 in the previous decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until now, European actors seeking to launch satellites were dependent on Russia and the European spaceport in French Guiana on the north-eastern coast of South America. Europe\u2019s heavy air traffic and densely populated terrain had traditionally offered few of the necessary conditions. What goes up, sometimes comes down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the remains of its suborbital rockets floating to Earth on parachutes, the Esrange base has a huge landing zone of 5,200km\u00b2, a stretch of territory about twice the size of Luxembourg nestled between Norway to the west and Finland to the east. It is barely inhabited, and the Sami reindeer herders who roam there have been provided with bunkers for use at the time of launches.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Mechanical
Mechanical engineers work on the SubOrbital Express (Maser 15) rocket in the dome building at the Esrange Space Center. Photograph: Olle Janson\/SSC<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

But in April, the Norwegian authorities issued an angry statement when an Esrange research rocket malfunctioned and landed in its territory. A cynic might suspect that Norway, with its rival ambitions, had good reason to make a fuss. Gustafsson is diplomatic. \u201cIt was really not a danger for anyone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, until now, he concedes, a satellite-loaded rocket launching from Esrange had simply not been viable. The rocket would need to pass over Norway for 15 to 20 seconds with all the concomitant risks. That, however, has all changed. \u201cWith the old fashioned technology it could be a risk, with the new technology it is not at all,\u201d said Gustafsson. \u201cIt flies up there, over 100km and then goes away. There is less risk than an aeroplane crashing at an airport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It remains, of course, a difficult undertaking to blast a satellite into orbit. A request for such launching technology was said to have been put on the table by North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong-un during his recent meeting with Vladimir Putin<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further compelling evidence closer to home of the complexity of the challenge emerged in January during the calamity in Cornwall that saw off the previous pack leader in the race to be Europe\u2019s first.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The
The nose cone of the Virgin Orbit rocket, before launch, outside the Spaceport in Cornwall. Photograph: Cornick Productions\/Virgin Orbit<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Richard Branson\u2019s Virgin Orbit mission had relied on a converted Boeing 747, Cosmic Girl, hitting high speeds before releasing LauncherOne, which was carrying nine satellites. The rocket failed to reach the required altitude<\/a>. Virgin Orbit has since gone bust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not using the flight operations that the UK did,\u201d said Gustafsson. \u201cBranson\u2019s Virgin Orbit was using rockets under an aeroplane. That\u2019s OK for flight up to space and back, like with \u2018sounding\u2019 rockets. The speed of such a vehicle is up to three and a half kilometres per second. To be able to orbit, to put satellites into orbit, you need to reach a speed of seven and a half kilometres a second. It\u2019s totally different power you need. Launching from an aeroplane is tremendously difficult. We are not getting into that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Esrange space center hopes to have its maiden launch by spring \u2013 but is not putting a date on it. It\u2019s waiting for the right rocket to be ready for buy. A contract is in the pipeline with a Swedish provider. Clients will then provide the satellites, known as the \u201cpayload\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe could give the example of an airport,\u201d said Gustafsson. \u201cA company owns the airport, and different airlines use it. It\u2019s the same here. But then, you can have British Airways and Heathrow. They have both. That is the sweet spot for us and we are heading for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once Europe\u2019s first successful launch is completed, the base aims to build capacity for \u201crapid launching\u201d by 2030, where satellites would be ready to be thrust into orbit within a fortnight of notification. \u201cTo us, it\u2019s not a race to be first, it\u2019s a race to be successful,\u201d said Gustafsson, a former marathon canoeist with world championship medals to his name. But, he adds, \u201ccompetition is good because it drives speed and cost effectiveness\u201d. Make no mistake, the Swedes have their eyes on the stellar prize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sweden is leading in a battle to be the first European space base outside Russia to launch a satellite into orbit First place is \u201cnice but it\u2019s not necessary\u201d, says Stefan Gustafsson, a senior official at the Sweden Space Corporation (SSC), with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooperation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=938"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":944,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/938\/revisions\/944"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}