It is the first time in over 10 years that the National Communications Authority (Nkom) has said no to an application for use of the satellite station on Svalbard. The American company has also been refused permission to use a Norwegian station in Antarctica. The regulations must prevent the archipelago from being used for war purposes, which the Svalbard Treaty prohibits in article nine. One satellite, the American satellite EWS Rapid Revisit Optical Cloud Imager, RROCI, is funded by the US Air Force, according to Nkom. The company that owns the satellite has stated on its website that the purpose is technology development with military purposes, which Nkom has placed a decisive emphasis on in its processing of the application. Svalsat at Longyearbyen on Svalbard communicates with over 100 satellites. Photo: KSAT Section chief Bent André Støyva in Nkom says the case is special. – You cannot use an earth station to send data to or read data from a satellite that performs a function specifically for military purposes. And it is not permitted to read data to or download data from a satellite where data is only made available for military purposes. That is the reason why this satellite has been rejected, says Støyva. The case has been dealt with in two rounds. Both times the application was rejected. The decision from July is now final. The American satellite has also been refused permission to use the Norwegian satellite station Trollsat in Antarctica with the same reasoning. The Antarctic Treaty states that Antarctica can only be used for peaceful purposes. It is the first time that Nkom has given a satellite owner a refusal to use Trollsat, according to themselves. Turkish Earth observation satellite The other satellite that has now been refused access to Svalbard is the Turkish Earth observation satellite IMECE. IMECE is an Earth observation satellite with an image resolution below one meter. Nkom believes that IMECE is a direct continuation of another Turkish satellite project, GOKTURK, which has a stated military purpose. The Turkish satellite IMECE will be Turkey’s first high-resolution Earth observation satellite. Graphics: Official Turkish authorities Nkom have, among other things, responded that the data should not be traded freely. – It is a requirement in our regulations that the data downloaded on Svalsat be made commercially available. Here, the operator and owner agree that the data shall only be used in Turkey and shall not be made available to others. In addition, there is some information online that indicates that it will eventually switch to more military use and that it will not use ground stations outside Turkey to download data, says Støyva. – No further comments Kongsberg Satellite Service (KSAT), which has submitted the applications for the two satellites, will not allow itself to be interviewed on behalf of the satellite companies about these matters. Acting press contact Mali A. Arnstad writes in a comment that it is Nkom that assesses the company’s applications and that KSAT has no further comments. It is further stated by KSAT that operations on Svalbard are in line with all guidelines and orders given by the Norwegian authorities.
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American and Turkish satellites are refused to download data on Svalbard – news Troms and Finnmark
