Space, the first European satellite launch base inaugurated in Sweden – Corriere.it

Sweden inaugurated a new website on Friday 13 January satellite launch in the Arctic, in the Esrange space center, about 40 kilometers away from the mining city of Kiruna, where the largest deposit of rare earths in Europe was recently discovered. The first space rocket will be launched, if forecasts are confirmed, in 2024. It is the first spaceport in the continental EU, so far the Union has launched its rockets from the Kourou base in French Guiana.

Information arriving from space

The opening of the Esrange Spaceport is an important moment. As the first orbital launch site on our mainland, it offers an independent European platform for space. The future of the EU as a space power is also written in Sweden, said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the ribbon cutting together with the Swedish king Carl XVI Gustaf and the prime minister Ulf Kristersson. Stockholm has held the rotating presidency of the EU since 1 January and the College of Commissioners was in Kiruna for the start of the semester. Europe has its foothold in space and will keep it because there are many good reasons why we need to speed up Europe’s space program, von der Leyen said.

Civil and military reasons

The project cost 15 million euros. The fight against climate change also involves the information provided by satellites: Space provides 60% of the measurements we need and the majority of the data we need to understand what is happening, the president underlined. But the military role is also fundamental. The current geopolitical situation, not least the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has shown how important it is for the EU to have access to space, said Prime Minister Kristersson and for this reason Sweden has invested in the launch pad.

Logic of sustainable development

Ukraine uses small satellites to track Russian troop movements. In addition to satellite launches, the Swedish space center will continue the European Space Agency (ESA) program for the development of reusable rocket launchers called Themis, in a logic of sustainable development of the space race, which will see in the coming years multiplying the number of satellites in orbit not only public but also owned by private individuals. Von der Leyen confirmed the political will to develop this industry which needs huge investments. It is estimated that the sector should reach a market value of approximately 1,000 billion dollars in the next few years. According to the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) the number of operational satellites in 2040 should reach 100,000, compared to the current 5,000. The Commission, anticipated the president, will present a proposal for an EU space strategy for security and defence. The goal is to improve the resilience of Europe’s space infrastructure and strengthen our shared European capabilities.

The competition

But Brussels also aims to change the way of “making space” in Europe. This means encouraging the involvement of SMEs and start-ups in EU flagship initiatives, underlined von der Leyen, adding that this also means promote access to finance for space entrepreneurs in Europe. The next European Space Summit will be held in November in Seville. The Swedish spaceport is one of Europe’s projects for launching rockets into space. Competition for the first launch from the European continent will be the Portuguese Azores, the Norwegian Arctic island of Andya, Andalusia and the United Kingdom, which three days ago failed in an attempt to launch satellites from an airplane.