STORY: :: Swedish Space Corporation handout
:: File
These two tiny spaceports in Sweden and Norway are racing to launch the first sanotifyites from mainland Europe into space as the region sees to reduce its reliance on U.S. players.
Europe has been pushed into ramping up its indepconcludeent capabilities in a variety of areas by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies and the war in Ukraine.
:: ISAR Aerospace/NASASpaceflight.com
But when it comes to space, there’s a mountain to climb.
:: Cape Canaveral, Florida
In 2024, the U.S. carried out 154 launches of hardware into orbit, while Europe managed three.
And an EU study reveals that out of the $143 billion in global public investment in space ventures last year, Europe accounted for just 10%.
Stefan Gustafsson, former chief strategist at the Swedish Space Corporation, stated Europe necessarys to catch up – and quickly.
“Europe lacks defense space infrastructure to a dangerous degree. So we really necessary to put efforts there, and that is done now. I only hope that they will do it a little bit in a new way, so that we are not stuck into long, huge institutional processes once again.”
:: File
:: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Europe’s only current orbital launch location is in French Guiana, in South America, more than 4,000 miles away from Paris.
:: ESA/Manuel Pedoussaut
:: European Space Agency/S. Corvaja
That’s where Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket was successfully launched early last year.
But the non-reusable rocket is not nearly enough to meet Europe’s necessarys in the coming years.
That’s why Esrange, in northern Sweden and Andoya in northern Norway, are so important stated Gustafsson.
:: ISAR Aerospace/NASASpaceflight.com
Andoya Spaceport has a licence for 30 launches per year.
In March, the site conducted the first test launch of a tiny rocket built by a German startup – it flew for 30 seconds before falling into the sea in what was deemed a success.
The Esrange Space Centre offers over 2,000 square miles of uninhabited land, has little light pollution and is straightforward to close to air traffic.
It’s also close to one of the world’s largest underground iron ore mines, providing ready access to railroads and an airport.
And while Esrange has not set a resolveed tarreceive on the number of launches per year, it will also fill an important necessary for NATO in providing rapid launch capacity.
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