Thu, Dec 20, 2012
Kiruna Airport Hopes To Offer Horizontal And Vertical Launches From The Arctic Circle
About 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle is the Swedish town of Kiruna, whose international airport offers flights to London and Tokyo. But if the plans of Spaceport Sweden come to fruition, the town could be the site of vertical and horizontal commercial space launches.
Established in 2007, Spaceport Sweden would like to offer flights within 10 years, according to a report from the French news service AFP relayed by Discovery News online. The company's director, Karin Nilsdotter, said that their goal is to establish both space tourism and research flights from Sweden.
Nilsdotter said that the remote location makes Kiruna ideal for commercial space activities. There is not a lot of commercial traffic, and the area is not densely populated. It is also well within Sweden's borders, so that international "bureaucratic red tape" would be far less of an issue.
But like so many of America's designated spaceports, Spaceport Sweden is still in search of an anchor tenant, though Nilsdotter hinted that it was working with a company that is building a spacecraft. She did not say which company that was, but Virgin Glalactic's SpaceShipTwo is featured prominently in their YouTube videos.
There is a nearby launch center in the town of Esrange, which launches about four rockets a year. They are not participating in the Spaceport Sweden effort "because we're not about creating adventure," said the site's director Lennart Poramaa. Still, he acknowledged that there will be commercial spaceflight and space tourism in the future, and that Esrange could possible "help in the field of research."
(Artist's concept of Spaceport Sweden)
More News
Hold Procedure A predetermined maneuver which keeps aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air traffic control. Also used during ground operatio>[...]
Altitude Readout An aircraft’s altitude, transmitted via the Mode C transponder feature, that is visually displayed in 100-foot increments on a radar scope having readout cap>[...]
Aero Linx: European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) The general aim of the EHPU is to promote and protect hang gliding and paragliding in Europe. In order to achieve this>[...]
Also: Skydio Chief, Uncle Sam Sues, Dash 7 magniX, OR UAS Accelerator US Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall was given a turn around the patch in the 'X-62A Variable In-flight>[...]
"The need for innovation at speed and scale is greater than ever. The X-62A VISTA is a crucial platform in our efforts to develop, test and integrate AI, as well as to establish AI>[...]