Less than one year after the opening of the Norwegian spaceport at Andøya, Andøya Spaceport has reached yet another important milestone towards the first launch of satellites from Norwegian soil.
On Thursday 22nd of August, Andøya Spaceport received its Launch Site Operator license from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. Norway is thus taking another important step into the newspace age and consolidating Norway’s position as the leading space nation in the Arctic.
With this license, Andøya Spaceport located on the island of Andøya in Nordland has formally become a Launch Site Operator, with the overall responsibility for developing, operating and ensuring safe operations from the newly developed spaceport. The license allows the spaceport to operate the launch site for launch vehicles that places satellites into orbit from Norwegian soil.
“There is a huge team effort behind the work to get this license in place. Ever since 2018, our team has been building the foundation that now enables launch of satellites from Norwegian soil. The Collaboration with Isar Aerospace, authorities and stakeholder groups has been key. Building a spaceport from scratch has required patience, creativity and perseverance, and has demanded varied expertise from many different industries.“ said Lasse Berg, Interim President, Andøya Spaceport.
Norway as a space nation and safe steward of spaceport concepts for Europe
The fact that Andøya Spaceport has now received permission to conduct operations have major strategic implications for Norway and our partners and marks the start of Norway’s newspace age. The space industry is not only a critical factor in handling national and international functions, but also a catalyst for innovation and economic growth as it opens the doors to an entirely new ecosystem. With Andøya Spaceport as an operational spaceport, Norway can now play an active role in the global space industry by offering sovereign, reliable and fast access to space from Norwegian soil. This is an important step in positioning Norway as a key actor for space infrastructure, and it emphasizes national ambitions to become a key space nation in Europe.
Europe’s new highway to space is passing through Norway
Andøya Spaceport is strategically and geographically located to launch small satellites of up to 1.5 tons into polar and sun-synchronous orbits. The spaceport has good logistical conditions with Andøya Airport and deep water port availability, as well as road connections to Europe. With this new “highway” to space, Norway enables rocket launch companies to offer reliable and independent access to space, which is crucial at a time when the space industry is becoming increasingly commercialized and important for national and allied security.
“We are very pleased with the permit and that the Norwegian authorities in this way give the spaceport the opportunity to enter an extended operational phase. For us, this means that we are now extra focused on the overall responsibility we have as a spaceport operator to ensure the safety of all actors involved, not least the local community. In addition to being Europe’s most efficient and attractive spaceport, we also aim to be the safest!” added Jon Harr, Operations Director, Andøya Spaceport.
First customer to launch from Andøya Spaceport is Isar Aerospace
The European space company Isar Aerospace is Andøya Spaceport’s first customer. The company has established itself as a technological leader, having developed proprietary know-how through full vertical integration as well as owning design, production, and testing operations entirely in-house. The company has a dedicated launch pad at the spaceport and it is Isar Aerospace’s in-house developed launch vehicle Spectrum, that soon will be launched from Andøya Spaceport. Currently, the company is working towards Spectrum’s first test flight. The first and second stage of Spectrum will soon undergo stage testing, a series of hot fire tests which will verify that the systems meet all necessary requirements for flight.
“We congratulate Andøya Spaceport on receiving the Launch site operator license. This milestone enables our team at Isar Aerospace to continue with our ambitious plan and soon start with the final stage tests ahead of Spectrum’s first test flight. Together with Andøya Spaceport, our team has created an excellent piece of engineering, the first orbital launch site in continental Europe. We can’t wait for Spectrum to begin operations.” commented Alexandre Dalloneau, Vice President of Mission and Launch Operations, Isar Aerospace