Esrange

TheBLASTpayload and high-altitude balloon shortly before launch.

The finalSkylarkrocket launch at Esrange on 2 May 2005.

Esrange Space Centeris a rocket range andresearchcentre located about 40 kilometers east of the town ofKirunain northernSweden.It is a base forscientificresearch withhigh-altitude balloons,investigation of theaurora borealis,sounding rocketlaunches, andsatellitetracking, among other things. Located 200 km north of theArctic Circleand surrounded by a vast wilderness, its geographic location is ideal for many of these purposes.

Esrange was built in 1964 byESRO,theEuropean Space Research Organisation,which later becameEuropean Space Agencyby merging withELDO,the European Launcher Development Organisation. The first rocket launch from Esrange occurred on 19 November 1966.In 1972, ownership was transferred to the newly startedSwedish Space Corporation.

History

In the 1960s, Esrange was established as anESROsounding rocket launching range located inKiruna.This location was chosen because it was generally agreed that it was important to carry out a sounding rocket programme in theauroral zone,and for this reason it was essential that ESRO equip itself with a suitable range in the northern latitudes. Access to Kiruna was good by air, road and rail, and the launching range was relatively close to the town of Kiruna. Finally and perhaps decisively, Esrange could be located near Kiruna Geophysical Observatory (subsequently renamed toSwedish Institute of Space Physics). In 1972 ownership and operations of the range was transferred to theSwedish Space Corporation.

Name

The name of the facility was originallyESRANGE,which was an abbreviation forESRO Sounding Rocket Launching Range.

When Swedish Space Corporation took over the range, its name becameEsrange(with capital 'E' only).

Esrange Space Centeris the name that is currently used for the facility.

Other ways to interpret the name over the years has beenEuropeanSpace and Sounding RocketRange,andEuropeanSpaceRange.

Rocket activities

There had been Swedish rocket activities previously, mainly atKronogård(18 launches in the period 1961–1964).However, the rocket activity in Sweden did not gain thrust until afterESROestablished Esrange in 1964.

During the period 1966–1972ESROlaunched more than 150 rockets from Esrange. Most of these wereCentaure,Nike Apache,andSkuarockets reaching 100–220 km altitude. They supported many branches of European research, but the emphasis was on atmospheric and ionospheric research.

In 1972 the management of Esrange was transferred to theSwedish Space Corporation(SSC). Gradually the smaller rockets were complemented by larger rockets reaching higher altitudes, achievingweightlessnessfor a few minutes when the rocket is above the parts of the atmosphere giving an appreciable friction. Three main programmes,Texus,Maser,andMaxuscurrently dominate the rocket activities at Esrange and supportmicrogravityresearch forESAandDLR:

Programme	Rocket motor	Peak altitude	Payload mass	Microgravity time	Period	Launches	Customers
Texus	Skylark 7,VSB-30	250–300 km	330–400 kg	6 minutes	1977–	60	DLRandESA
Maser	Black Brant,Skylark 7,VSB-30	250–300 km	330–400 kg	6 minutes	1987–	15	ESA
Maxus	Castor 4B	700–720 km	800 kg	12–13 minutes	1991–	8	ESAandDLR
Mini-Texus	Nike Orion	120–150 km	160–200 kg	3–4 minutes	1993–1998	6	DLRandESA
Rexus	Improved Orion	80–110 km	100kg	2 minutes	1995–	32	DLR,ESA,ZARM
MAPHEUS	Nike-Orion,VS-30,Improved Malemute/Improved Malemute,Red Kite/Improved Malemute	150-250 km	-	6 minutes	2009-	14	DLR
SERA	Cesaroni Pro 98-6G	5-10 km	-	-	2014-	4	CNES

SSC,jointly withDLR,introduced a new launch service with the Suborbital Express programme launched in 2019. Suborbital Express is now integrating theMasermicrogravity programme.

More than 500 rockets have been launched from Esrange since 1966. For information on individual rockets, see theList of rockets launched from Esrange.

Esrange has sixlaunchers:

• MAXUS launcher (used for the CASTOR 4B rocket)
• MAN launcher (owned by DLR)
• MRL Launcher (used for the Orion, Nike-Orion, Taurus-Orion, Nike-Black Brant V, Terrier-Black Brant rockets)
• Skylark launch tower (now used for the VSB-30 rocket)
• FFAR launcher (used forFolding-Fin Aerial Rockets)
• SULO/VIPER launcher (used forSuper LokiandVIPERrockets)

Balloon activities

Since 1974, more than 500high-altitude balloonshave been launched from Esrange for research purposes. The launch pad can handle balloons with volumes exceeding 1 million cubic meters.

Satellite services

The arctic latitude of Esrange makes it very suitable for communication with satellites in polar orbits.Esrange Satellite Stationis part of a global network with stations in Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Chile and Australia. This global network is managed from Esrange.

Esrange Space Centersatellite station emphasizes on data acquisition and processing forremote sensingand scientific missions as well as TT&C support. The station is often used in combination with SSC'sInuvik Satellite Stationin northern Canada, to increase coverage opportunities for polar orbiting missions.

Esrange Space Centersatellite station includes six independent Telemetry Tracking & Command (TT&C) systems in S-Band (one with receive capability also in the UHF-Band), six multi-frequency receive antenna systems in S/X-Band and an operational building which houses reception system electronics and data processing equipment. Satellite services at Esrange began in 1978.

Satellite control services

A number of telecommunication satellites have been controlled through Esrange:

• Tele-X(1989–1998)
• Sirius-1(1995–2003)
• Sirius-2(1997–2009)
• Sirius-3(1998–2015)
• Sirius-4(2008–)

Most research satellites of the Swedish space programme have received control commands through Esrange:

• Viking(1986–1987)
• Freja(1992–1996)
• Astrid-1(1995)
• Odin(2001–)

The exception was controlled from SSC's laboratories in Solna outside Stockholm:

• Astrid-2(1998–1999)

Ground station services

Data have been received at Esrange from more than 50 satellites, including SPOT 1–5, Landsat 2–7,ERS-1–2 andEnvisat.

Satellite launch capability

Ideas to use Esrange Space Center for orbital launches has existed since the inauguration of the base in 1966, then in the vision of ESRO. As new smaller launcher projects started to emerge in the beginning of the new millennia, SSC started to form new ideas to use these to obtain an orbital capability.

On October 14, 2020, Matilda Ernkrans, the Swedish Space Minister, announced the decision of the Swedish government to establish capability to launch small satellites from Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden.

The orbital launch site, LC-3, was inaugurated on 13 January 2023 as the ribbon was cut by the Swedish kingCarl XVI Gustaf,prime ministerUlf Kristerssontogether withhead commissionerPresidentUrsula Von der Leyen.There are currently plans for an orbital launch at 2024.

Impact

A vast uninhabited area north of the range is used as an area where the sounding rockets can land. Spread throughout this area are small shelters, like the one shown in this picture. When a launch campaign is planned, people are asked to visit such shelters and listen to the radio. This shelter is at Vassejávri, around 10 km west ofJärämä (Sweden).

Interior of such a shelter

The area of the site is traditional land of theSami people,particularly forreindeer herding.Shelters have been established for people in the surrounding area to take cover during launches. Increased industrial, military and aeronautic activity in the region has been viewed critically by Sami people.

See also

• List of rockets launched from Esrange
• Swedish Space Corporation
• Swedish National Space Agency
• Swedish Institute of Space Physics
• North European Aerospace Test range
• List of rocket launch sites
• Rexus/Bexus
• SaxaVord Spaceport

References

Sources

• The History of Sounding Rockets and Their Contribution to European Space Research, Günther Seibert, ESA HSR-38, November 2006,ISBN92-9092-550-7.

External links

Media related toEsrangeat Wikimedia Commons

• Esrange Space Center
• List of stratospheric balloons launched from Esrange
• Swedish Space Corporation- Official site