On 7 March, the Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt visited Esrange Space Center together with Cathrine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The visit was part of Ms Ashton's first visit to Sweden and a three-days tour around the Barents area to study its potentials.
The visitors were first taken on a helicopter flight around the Kiruna area, accompanied by SSC's CEO Lars Persson and a guide from Esrange. The ministers then spent three hours at the space center, which allowed time both for lunch and discussions about SSC's business in general and the activities at Esrange in particular.
Carl Bildt and Cathrine Ashton in front of the MAXUS launch tower. Mattias Abrahamsson, SSC, was their guide.
