Today, after 18 days aboard the International Space Station ISS, Sweden’s third astronaut Marcus Wandt returned to Sweden and Stockholm. As one of the co-financiers and enabler of Marcus’ journey to space, Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) welcomed him home at Bromma Airport, together with the Swedish government, Swedish National Space Agency, European Space Agency and SAAB.
“As a leading global space company, there was never any doubt that SSC would help finance the journey of the third Swedish astronaut in space. Space is becoming increasingly important to our modern everyday life on Earth, and the industry needs to grow and develop to meet society’s needs. Marcus Wandt is a fantastic ambassador for highlighting how Earth benefits from space, and he will create the engagement needed for more people apply to our industry,” says Charlotta Sund, CEO at SSC.
“Sweden is already a leading space nation and we have every opportunity to further strengthen that position. At Esrange Space Center, Sweden will be first on mainland EU with the capability to launch satellites. This is important not least for security and cooperation within both the EU and NATO, where European access to space plays a major strategic role. And it opens up new opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship, both increasingly dependent on space. Today, the Swedish space sector takes another big leap forward. Welcome home Marcus Wandt, together we will bring Swedish space to new heights,” says Anna Kinberg Batra, Chair of the Board of SSC.
Several of the experiments carried out on board the ISS, including one that Marcus Wandt was personally responsible for, was pre-tested onboard a sounding rockets launched from Esrange. Read more about Marcus’ journey to the ISS at:
- https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/HRE/Muninn_launchkit.pdf
- https://sscspace.com/lift-off-for-marcus-wandt/
- https://sscspace.com/stem-cells-research-to-space/
- https://www.saab.com/sv/markets/sweden/rymdstudion
Photos: Peter Alsing, Länsstyrelsen i Stockholm
