Spaceport Esrange to be Inaugurated as Mainland Europe's First Satellite Launch Site on January 2023

John Lopez, Tech Times 23 December 2022, 08:12 pm

Mainland Europe will reach new heights on January 13, 2023, with the opening of Spaceport Esrange, the continent's first satellite launch site.

TheNextWeb reports that the spaceport in Sweden will give the European Space Agency (ESA) a separate way to get into space, which will add to what it can do now in French Guiana.

Europe's Independent Spaceport

The newly constructed orbital launch station at Esrange is an indispensable asset for Europe. Currently, only ten nations worldwide can launch satellites. In addition to enhancing present European capabilities in French Guiana, Spaceport Esrange will provide an independent European gateway to space.

For the time being, ESA will use the spaceport to launch satellites into orbit, allowing European companies to launch their satellites rather than relying on foreign launch providers. It will also house tests for the ESA's Themis program, which is Europe's reusable rocketry endeavor.

Gardefjord, in charge of the Spaceport Esrange project, says that it will make the continent more stable in space and help make Europe "safe, competitive, and sustainable."

Themis' reusable space launcher will begin preliminary testing to achieve vehicle liftoff and recovery. ESA will also use the facility for suborbital testing of several next-generation rockets.

Spaceport Esrange's opening is a big step forward for Europe's space industry. The facility will soon create hundreds of jobs and help the local economy.

The facility would also significantly boost startups in the space sector. It will also necessitate competent operators to move on to new firms and transfer their expertise across the continent, assisting in the acceleration and growth of Europe's space sector.

Esrange Spaceport is actively seeking contracts with satellite owners and orbital rocket manufacturers, with the first satellite launch scheduled for late 2023. With the opening of this state-of-the-art facility, Mainland Europe is ready to make its mark on the space industry worldwide.

Satellite Boom

Experts foresee a satellite boom in the future due to the demand for standard connectivity and the need for information.

It is expected that 10,000 new satellites will be launched in the following years, with the total number of satellites in orbit reaching 100,000 by 2040 - a considerable increase from the 5,000 operational satellites currently in orbit.

The increased number of satellite launches is expected to result in various benefits, including excellent internet connectivity, more precise weather forecasts, and improved navigation and communication capabilities.

It will also let businesses and organizations collect data and conduct research from space, allowing us to understand better and manage concerns like climate change and environmental degradation.

In other news, NASA's powerful space telescope just snapped an image of a spiky spiral galaxy that resembles a cosmic wreath. NGC 7469 is a spiral galaxy 220 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus that revolves around an active galactic core (AGN).

According to NASA, this galaxy is home to an AGN that is barely 1500 light-years away from a starburst ring, allowing astronomers to investigate the relationship between AGNs and starburst activity.

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