The 12th International Conference on Space Operations

SSC’s facility Esrange Space Center is located 40 km north east of Kiruna. Esrange started in 1966 on the initiative of the European Space Research Organisation, ESRO, which needed a site where research using sounding rockets could take place. In a reorganization of ESRO a few years later, it was decided that member states should now run their research programs on a national basis, which is why Sweden took over the Esrange facility.

The Swedish National Space Board and the Swedish Space Corporation – now SSC – was set up, and SSC was commissioned to run Esrange. Today, Esrange Space Center is a busy site with some 180 employees.

Since the start in 1966, more than 500 sounding have been launched from Esrange. In 1974, a launching facility for scientific balloons was completed. It has been continuously upgraded to enable launches of 1,000,000 m³ balloons with payloads weighing up to many ton. Over 550 balloons have been launched this far.

Since 1978, there is also the Esrange Satellite Station, the world’s largest civil ground station for satellite communication. Today, the station has around 140 daily contacts with satellites in various orbits.

The location above the Arctic Circle is particularly advantageous for accessing polar orbiting satellites. The station at Esrange is a vital node of the PrioraNet, SSC’s global network of ground stations.

SSC website