The EU on Friday inaugurated its first mainland satellite launch port in Arctic Sweden, with officials saying this will allow the continent to strengthen security in the face of Russian aggression.
Located 200km above the Arctic Circle, the new facility at the existing Esrange Space Centre is about 40km from the city of Kiruna and surrounded by 5000 sq km of wilderness.
Esrange spaceport was launched at a ceremony attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf.
The war in Ukraine, where engines for the European Vega rocket are manufactured, and the abrupt end to the West's space co-operation with Russia have increased interest in having spaceports in Europe.
“The current geopolitical situation, not least of course the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has demonstrated how important it is that the EU has access to space,” said Mr Kristersson.
Esrange is “ideal for launches of satellites in polar orbits and other space activities”, he added.
The inauguration ceremony coincided with a visit to Sweden by members of the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm.
Estrange will be the first spaceport on Europe's mainland with “rapid launch capacities and other strategic capabilities compatible with both EU and Nato’s needs”, said Anna Kinberg Batra, chairwoman of the Swedish Space Coroporation, a government-owned company that provides space subsystems, space and satellite operations.
Around 15 million euros ($16.3 million) have been invested in the Swedish site, which should complement Europe's current spaceport in French Guiana, a region of France on the north-east coast of South America.
The Swedish site is fuelled by fossil-free energy, said Ms Batra.
“Fossil-free rocket fuel is developed and tested here and with our partners in ESA [the European Space Agency], we will take the next step in the development of reusable European rockets,” she said.
Estrange will host ESA’s trials of reusable rockets, she said.
Small satellites are important for European security and are currently used by the Ukrainian Army to track the movements of Russian troops, said Ms von der Leyen.
“Europe has its foothold in space, and we will keep it,” she said.
The number of satellites in orbit is expected to reach 100,000 by 2040, the SSC said, compared to 5,000 now.
In Esrange's existing capacity as a rocket range, more than 600 suborbital rockets have already been launched from the site.
In Sweden, like in the rest of Europe, the rockets being developed are “micro-rockets”.
These are around 30 metres long, capable of carrying a payload of several hundred kilos.
In the future, SSC is aiming for payloads of more than a tonne.
An attempt to launch the first rocket into orbit from Britain, on a Virgin Orbit Boeing 747 that took off from a spaceport in Cornwall, south-west England, ended in failure on Tuesday.
