There were more space launches in 2021 than ever before with more records set to be broken in the coming years.
While 2022 has been another exceptional year for space exploration, it has been marred by growing tensions with Europe’s biggest space partner, Russia
According to experts, it’s become easier to send satellites into orbit thanks to their smaller sizes and cheaper prices compared to a few years ago — and now Europe is looking to capitalise on it.
As it strikes out on a more independent path, the Esrange Space Centre in Sweden has become the leading prospective candidate for Europe’s first satellite launch.
Although Europe has a space hub in Kourou in French Guiana, there hasn’t been a satellite sent directly from mainland Europe to space.
However, the Swedish spaceport says it could happen as soon as the end of next year.
Geographical advantage
Portugal’s Azores, Norway’s Andoya island, Spain’s Andalusia and the UK’s Shetland Islands are all in contention for the honour of launching Europe’s first satellite.
The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) says, its location, 200 km above the Arctic Circle, makes the Esrange space centre an odds-on candidate.
«We think we are clearly the most advanced,» says Mattias Abrahamsson, Head of Business Development at the SSC.
Mattias Abrahamsson
Head of Business Development, Swedish Space Corporation
«In this area, we have 5,200 square kilometres where no one lives, so we can easily launch a rocket that flies into this area and falls down without anyone getting harmed,» Abrahamsson says.
Orbiting the North and South Poles is enough for many satellites and in Sweden, like in the rest of Europe, the rockets being developed are «micro-rockets».
These are around 30 m long, and capable of carrying a payload of several hundred kilos.
«Instead of launching one big satellite, you spread it out over multiple small satellites and that drives the demand,» Philip Påhlsson, Project Manager of New Esrange, explained.
In addition, having a launch site close to European clients spares them and their satellites long boat journeys to Kourou.
The satellite industry is booming, and the Swedish state-owned company is in discussions with several rocket makers and clients who want to put their satellites in orbit.
But working in the harsh Arctic climate «comes with challenges,» SSC says.
With temperatures regularly dropping to -20 or -30 degrees, special attention needs to be paid to the metals used, which become more fragile in the cold.
‘New Esrange’ project
Founded by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 1966 to study the atmosphere and Northern Lights phenomenon, the Esrange space centre has invested heavily in its facilities in recent years to be able to send satellites into space.
The new hangar is big enough to house two 30-metre rockets, which are currently under assembly elsewhere.
In the future, SSC is aiming for payloads of more than a tonne.
«This has been a major development, the biggest step we have taken since the inception of Esrange,» said Påhlsson.
More than 600 suborbital rockets have already been launched from this remote corner of Sweden’s far north, including the Suborbital Express 3 which was launched in November.
For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.
Video editor • Roselyne Min
