The case in summary: The Swedes plan to launch medium-sized launch vehicles from Esrange Spaceport in northern Sweden, which has caused concern that rocket parts could fall over Troms. Swedish space authorities confirm that the launch path will cross over Norwegian airspace and that they will land in the sea areas off northern Norway. The launchers, which weigh between 30 and 50 tonnes, are planned to be launched in 2025 and 2026. The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority is now investigating the risk to life and health if such launchers are launched over the land areas in northern Norway. Communications manager at Esrange Space Centre, Philip Ohlsson, believes that there is very little chance of an accident happening over northern Norway. Industry Minister Cecilie Myrseth (Ap) says the Swedes must apply for permission to launch rockets over Norwegian land. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It creates major concerns about launches from Esrange. A failed launch could fall over the city of Tromsø, warns Storting politician from Nordland Høyre, Bård Ludvig Thorheim. The warning comes in a written question to Minister of Business Cecilie Myrseth (Ap). At the end of June, the Swedish rocket launch site Esrange Spaceport announced that they had entered into agreements with two rocket manufacturers for test launches from the rocket launch site outside Kiruna in northern Sweden. Now the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries has asked the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority to map the risks and other consequences when such launchers are launched over land in northern Norway. With the launch path in a north-westerly direction from Esrange, the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority believes that the fallout field can reach 250 kilometers over the northern part of Nordland, Troms and Finnmark counties. Want to launch larger rockets This summer, two new launch contracts, with American Firefly Aerospace and South Korean Perigee Aerospace, were announced by the Swedish state space company Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). In 2025, a 20-ton South Korean rocket named “Blue Whale” is scheduled to be launched from the facility. In 2026, it is the turn of the 54-tonne American Firefly rocket “Alpha”. Animation of launches of medium-sized launch vehicles from Esrange Spaceport in northern Sweden. The animation is made by the Swedish Space Corporation (SCC). The launches will take place from Esrange Spaceport outside Kiruna. The rocket launch facility is in the process of positioning itself as a new launch port in the European market, in sharp competition with, among others, Andøya Spaceport. The state-owned Swedish Space Corporation confirms to news that the launch path will cross over Norwegian airspace and that they will land in the sea areas off northern Norway. – The aviation authorities in Norway should make a thorough assessment of the safety of launching such rockets over Norwegian land territory, says Conservative parliamentary representative Bård Ludvig Thorheim to news. Bodøværing and Storting politician Bård Ludvig Thorheim (H) is concerned that rocket remnants will hit Tromsø – if the launches in northern Sweden become a reality. Photo: Allan Klo – Minimal risk He points out that it was from the Esrange facility that a smaller rocket, with a payload of 300 kilograms, fell into the Rostadalen in Indre Troms in April 2023. – No one can be absolutely sure that these the rockets, or parts from them, may fall over Troms. Therefore, this must be taken seriously by the Norwegian authorities, he believes. Industry Minister Cecilie Myrseth (Ap), tells news that it is not the Norwegian government’s responsibility if something goes wrong. – Sweden is responsible for documenting that rocket launches from Swedish territory take place in a manner that is sound in terms of security and does not harm the interests of neighboring countries. The consideration of safety for Norwegian citizens will be decisive, she writes in an e-mail. Philip Ohlsson is head of communications at Esrange Space Center. He writes in an e-mail to news that there is very little chance of an accident happening over Northern Norway. – In the event of incidents over Norwegian territory, the rocket has a direction and speed that makes the risk so minimal that there is practically no risk of fallout in Norway. Serious launch vehicle accidents: USA, 2024: SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 20 satellites into wrong orbit in July this year. Which led to the loss of all the satellites from Starlink. USA, 2023: Elon Musk’s Starship from SpaceX explodes shortly after launch, during testing. China, 2022: A Long March rocket crashed over a built-up area in southern China after an uncontrolled return. United States, 2021: The pressure tank from the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 crashed onto a farm in Washington State, causing property damage. USA, 2020: A failed launch of an Astra Rocket caused a wildfire in Alaska after crashing to Earth shortly after launch. China, 2019: Long March rocket falls over built-up areas. USA, 2014: An Antares rocket explodes after launch from Virginia, and debris fell over built-up areas and caused material damage. Russia, 2013: Russian Proton-M rocket explodes shortly after launch in Kazakhstan. Wreckage spread over a large but deserted area. China, 1996: Chinese Long March 3B rocket explodes shortly after launch and crashes into a nearby village. An unknown number of people were killed. Sources: Space.com, NASA, Reuters and BBC. – Accidents happen right as they are news’s space reporter Hallvard Sandberg has followed international space travel for a number of years. He disagrees with Ohlsson that the chance of fallout over northern Norway, with such launches, is next to non-existent. – Accidents happen as it is. Especially with the latest rockets. It is therefore most common for the rocket launch pads to be located on the coast and launch into orbit over the sea, he says. Hallvard Sandberg is a journalist at news and works with science communication about space travel and astronomy. Photo: Karen Sandberg Last Monday this week, an accident occurred at a British rocket launch facility in Shetland. A German-made rocket engine unexpectedly blew up during a test. The new rockets to be launched from northern Sweden have also experienced problems. In 2021, one of Firefly’s Alpha rockets exploded two minutes after launch from the Vandenberg rocket facility in California. Despite the fact that the launch path went out over the Pacific Ocean, debris from the rocket should have fallen in a city just north of the launch site, according to the American website Spacenews. Philip Ohlsson emphasizes to news that this accident occurred during testing of the Alpha rocket, and that these launchers have now been fully developed and approved for commercial launches. The Swedish rocket TEXUS 58 fell into the mountain Likka in Målselv. Photo: Benny Norendahl / SSC – One minute above Norwegian land Ohlsson believes the rockets will fly so high that there is no question that they will be inside what is defined as national airspace, which extends 100 kilometers above sea level. – These rockets will leave Swedish airspace and continue their flight over international airspace. For approximately one minute, the rocket is then over Norwegian land. The launchers land in the Atlantic Ocean. Ohlsson emphasizes that solid risk assessments will be made in advance of the launches, and that they will take place in accordance with national international guidelines and agreements. Philip Ohlsson is head of communications at Esrange Space Centre. He believes Norwegians have little to fear from Swedish rocket launches. Photo: Marina Green Eklund & Kristoffer Wahlstrom / Marina Green Eklund & Kristoffer Wahlstrom – These orbital rockets have, among other things, advanced navigation and communication systems on board, which means that we can quickly end a flight that does not proceed nominally, within our landing area in Swedish earth or across the Atlantic, he writes. news’s space journalist Hallvard Sandberg points out that this in reality means that the rockets can in theory be detonated in the airspace over northern Norway: – Normally, a controlled fallout of the first stage of a launch vehicle will not pose a risk to land areas below the firing range. However, if something goes wrong right after the launch phase, parts of the rocket could fall over northern Norway, he believes. Business Minister Cecilie Myrseth says they have not been notified by the Swedish authorities about the planned launches in northern Sweden. Photo: Aurora Ytreberg Meløe / news – The Swedes must apply Cecilie Myrseth emphasizes that actors who want to fire rockets over Norway must apply to the Norwegian Aviation Authority for an overflight permit under the Aviation Act. Hallvard Sandberg believes that it could quickly become a point of discussion between Norway and Sweden about whether such launches would require approval from the Norwegian authorities. Especially since national airspace does not normally have jurisdiction over 100 kilometers from the ground, and that these rockets will reach such a height before they come over Norwegian lands. – The problem for them is that if something goes wrong during the launch, the remains can fall over Norway, and the Norwegian authorities are aware of this, he says. In an e-mail, the Ministry of Business and Industry writes to news that the Norwegian and Swedish authorities agree that transfers across Norway cannot take place without Norwegian consent. Published 27.08.2024, at 16.26
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Fears Swedish rocket parts may fall over Northern Norway – news Troms and Finnmark
