Stepping into Odin’s control center, a dedicated room at Esrange Satellite Station, feels like a journey back in time. All the computers here are from the late 1990s, and it seems as if time has stood still. Important notes on the whiteboards haven’t been erased in a quarter of a century. Stig-Ove “Sticko” Silverlind works at the Odin control center. He has been part of the team since the beginning and is still taking care of Odin as his own child.
The Odin satellite was launched from Russia’s Svobodny on February 20, 2001, with an expected lifespan of about two years. Now, nearly 25 years later, Odin is still operational, delivering invaluable data to researchers worldwide. However, Odin is on its final orbits around Earth, and it is estimated that it will burn up in the atmosphere sometime during the second quarter of 2026.
The satellite’s purpose was tied to the Montreal Protocol, which aimed to reduce the use of chemicals harmful to the ozone layer. Independent measurements of the ozone layer were needed at the time. However, Odin has been used for much more than just measuring ozone.
“We have monitored volcanic eruptions, the spread of ash clouds, and studied ice crystals and noctilucent clouds. We have also looked outward into space, measuring water on Mars and studying gas clouds that can explain how stars form. We’ve examined water isotopes in comets and studied Jupiter, among other things,” says Stig-Ove Silverlind, manager at Odin Control Center, who has been involved since the project’s inception 25 years ago.
International science relies on Odin
Countless research experiments have relied on data from Odin, especially because of the long dataset, which is rare for satellite measurements. Initially, the project was a collaboration between Sweden, Canada, Finland, and France. The benefits of Odin for research are almost indescribable. Around 1,000 researchers have written approximately 400 scientific articles, and about fifty doctoral theses have been completed with the help of data from the satellite. One of the most important contributions has been providing data to the UN’s climate panel, IPCC.
In the early days of Odin’s history, monitoring was around the clock, with staffing in shifts to cover each passage. However, as the lifespan extended far beyond anyone’s expectations, staffing gradually decreased. Since 2010, it has been primarily Stig-Ove Silverlind who has taken care of Odin as his own little project, of course with some help from the NMC during vacations.
“I’ve been involved since it was built and have more or less operated it myself for nearly 15 years. It will probably feel a bit bittersweet when it’s finally over, but at the same time, there will be a certain relief when I can go home from work and actually be off. I think I’ve had four weeks of uninterrupted vacation in 24 years,” says Stig-Ove, laughing.
Odin is now on its final orbits around Earth, and it is estimated that it will burn up in the atmosphere sometime during the second quarter of 2026, after more than 25 years in orbit. And the research will most likely continue until the very end for the satellite.
“The research itself is fine, but the orbit means an absolute end for Odin since we don’t have active orbit control. Simply put, solar wind creates very slight resistance, causing it to slowly fall closer to Earth. We started at about 600 km altitude and are now down to 450 km,” explains Stig-Ove.
Read more about Odin: https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/missions/odin
