Norway annoyed after Swedish missile crashes in its territory

Investigation being launched to determine the technical details behind the malfunction

A SubOrbital Express 3 rocket launching from the Esrange Space Centre in Jukkasjarvi, northern Sweden, in November 2022. AFP

Norway has expressed displeasure at Nordic neighbour Sweden after a research rocket crashed on its territory.

The rocket, which was launched on Monday from the Esrange Space Centre in Kiruna, northern Sweden, plunged into a mountainside in the Malselv municipality in Norway's far north, about 10km from the closest inhabited area.

The fallout is a rare public diplomatic spat between two usually close allies, and there seems to be some disagreement about recovering the wreckage.

Retrieval work was not supposed to begin without Norwegian authorisation, which had not been granted, Norway's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

But bosses at the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) said on Monday they were already working on recovering the crashed rocket.

"The crash of a rocket like this is a very serious incident that can cause serious damage," the Norwegian foreign ministry said.

"When such a border violation occurs, it is crucial that those responsible immediately inform the relevant Norwegian authorities through the proper channels.”

No one was injured and no material damage was reported. The rocket was carrying out experiments in zero gravity at an altitude of 250km.

Norway's Civil Aviation Authority said it had learnt of the crash only when the Swedish Space Corporation issued a press release on Monday.

"Norwegian authorities take any unauthorised activity on the Norwegian side of the border very seriously," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The ministry had not received a formal notification of the incident from the Swedish authorities.

Bosses at the SSC are working on retrieving the crashed rocket.

"It landed in the mountains at 1,000m altitude, and 10km from the closest settlement," said SSC head of communications Philip Ohlsson.

There are routines in place when things go wrong and we inform both Swedish and Norwegian governments, and other actors, he said.|

"The rocket took a slightly longer and more westerly trajectory than calculated and landed after a completed flight 15 kilometres into Norway," the SSC said. "Work on retrieving the payload is underway," it added.