Last week, SSC had the honor to welcome General B Chance Saltzman, Chief of the U.S. Space Force, to Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden. During his visit, the General was shown around the new facility where EU mainland’s first satellites will be launched within the next years.
As the highest-ranking official of the newest of the six branches of the U.S. armed forces, Saltzman emphasized the importance of the space domain as a whole and highlighted the need for continued transatlantic collaboration in both commercial and military space missions.
“Space is important. The average citizen doesn’t fully appreciate how integrated space is into their everyday life. Everything from GPS navigation and weather monitoring for agriculture, to financial transactions is managed via satellites in orbit around the Earth. Our adversaries have recognized the asymmetric advantage space offers, on the modern battlefield and to nations writ large,” said Saltzman.
“Esrange is a strategically important spaceport, a civilian facility with unique capabilities and significant importance for space research and as a resource for national total defense,” said Charlotta Sund, CEO of SSC.
“The visit from such dignified representatives of both U.S. and Swedish space and defense operations truly shows the strategic importance of the capabilities at Esrange. SSC is definitely ready to contribute to further collaboration – commercially, military and dual use,” said Lennart Poromaa, Head of Esrange Space Center, SSC.
During the visit, Gen. Saltzman praised Esrange as a uniquely strategic location, emphasizing its importance for continued international collaboration, not least within NATO.
“There are significant terrain considerations associated with space operations, and the perspective you get at Esrange Space Center is unique. There is a tremendous amount of growth going on there. It’s exciting to see how fast they’re moving, how they have embraced the technical innovations, and how much they’re expanding their operations, from sounding rockets to more traditional and larger launches,” said Saltzman and continued:
“Esrange is on the forefront of driving for more capability and more infrastructure. And they’re doing it fast, which is important because the space business, globally, is requiring much greater operational tempos. It is important to the United States that we continue to leverage these partnerships”.
One of the partners to start launching orbitally from Esrange in the coming few years, U.S. rocket company Firefly Aerospace, was also present during the visit. Their Alpha rocket will be instrumental in adding this capability to the European launch market.
“Firefly is looking forward to expanding our rapid launch operations beyond the United States. In partnership with SSC, we’ll unlock responsive space missions from continental Europe to further advance national security for NATO countries and service the larger commercial satellite market. We want to thank General Saltzman and the U.S. Space Force for their ongoing support,” said Adam Oakes, Vice President of Launch Vehicles at Firefly Aerospace.
The Swedish Government recently announced an 86 MEUR investment in Swedish space, partly earmarked to expand the infrastructure for responsive launch of satellites within 24 hours.
“Earlier this year, the Swedish Ministry of Defense released its space strategy for defense and security. It is obvious that Esrange is an important strategic asset through its capabilities to launch satellites which gives us and our allies’ access to space,” said Jonas Wikman, Chief of the Swedish Air Force.
Contact: Philip Ohlsson, Head of PR & Press, +46 (0)70 721 70 26, philip.ohlsson@sscspace.com
