Esrange
Esrange Space Center or Esrange is Sweden's space and research center located about 40 kilometers east of the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden, owned and operated by the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). The base itself covers 20 square kilometers, while the impact area for rockets is 5,600 km2. Located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, the geographic location of Esrange is advantageous thanks to the limited light pollution, allowing for studies of northern lights. The stable climate, limited commercial air traffic and sparsely populated area are further reasons why the location is well suited for space activities.
Esrange was constructed in 1964 by ESRO, which later became European Space Agency by merging with ELDO, the European Launcher Development Organisation. In 1972 the management of Esrange was transferred to the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC).
Today, Esrange is a center for scientific research and commercial spaceflight, through launches of sounding rockets and high-altitude balloons, studies of the aurora borealis, rocket tests, satellite launches and other space-related and atmospheric research. To date, more than 600 sounding rockets have been launched and nearly 700 stratospheric balloons have been released from Esrange. The facility is also the hub of the world's second largest civilian network of satellite ground stations which is used to communicate with, track and downlink data from satellites in orbit.
In January 2023, the first facility in the continental EU for satellite launches was inaugurated at Esrange. The first satellite launch is expected to take place in a few years' time, with U.S. company Firefly Aerospace' Alpha rocket. Esrange is also housing Europe's program for the development of reusable rockets, Themis, run by Ariane Group on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA), set for a first hop-test in 2026.