Philosophy
August 17th, 2012
European Space Agency
Not many countries can claim to have been using space for 50 years but it was in 1962 that the Andoya rocket facility in Norway launched its first rocket. This weekend Norway is celebrating its anniversary with His Majesty King Harald and ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang amongst others.
Norway's northern territories are well placed for a launch facility. Over 1000 sounding rockets have been launched from Andoya including ESA's own microgravity experiments. Offering over six minutes of precious experimentation in weightlessness the rockets lift-off and land in the North Atlantic within quarter of an hour.
Even further north, the islands of Svalbard host Galileo's largest ground station relaying information and commands to Europe's satellite positioning system. Svalbard also has the largest ground tracking station for polar orbiting satellites. Of all Earth's landscapes, many experts consider the islands of Svalbard to resemble Mars the most, so many missions to Mars are tested there before they are sent to the Red Planet. Two instruments on NASA's Curiosity Rover that landed on Mars last week were put to the test on Svalbard's landscape.
Norway's claim to space is not only based on its geography. ESA welcomed the country to its member states in 1987. Norwegian companies have supplied hardware for a wide range of missions and equipment. All Ariane-5 rockets rely on Norwegian-made explosive bolts that separate the fuel tanks from the main thrusters. Due to Norway's large shipping fleet the country has always been at the forefront of telecommunications. Many satellites launched today use Norwegian electronics.
Air monitors built in Norway have been a success on the International Space Station, and chambers for growing plants in the Space Station's greenhouse were also developed there. To reflect on these achievements and to look towards the future, the Norwegian Space Centre has organised a four day programme of talks and festivities including open days of the Andoya rocket facility.
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Philosophy
Norway's participation in space--50 years
"50 years of space for Norway"
August 17th, 2012
European Space Agency
Not many countries can claim to have been using space for 50 years but it was in 1962 that the Andoya rocket facility in Norway launched its first rocket. This weekend Norway is celebrating its anniversary with His Majesty King Harald and ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang amongst others.
Norway's northern territories are well placed for a launch facility. Over 1000 sounding rockets have been launched from Andoya including ESA's own microgravity experiments. Offering over six minutes of precious experimentation in weightlessness the rockets lift-off and land in the North Atlantic within quarter of an hour.
Even further north, the islands of Svalbard host Galileo's largest ground station relaying information and commands to Europe's satellite positioning system. Svalbard also has the largest ground tracking station for polar orbiting satellites. Of all Earth's landscapes, many experts consider the islands of Svalbard to resemble Mars the most, so many missions to Mars are tested there before they are sent to the Red Planet. Two instruments on NASA's Curiosity Rover that landed on Mars last week were put to the test on Svalbard's landscape.
Norway's claim to space is not only based on its geography. ESA welcomed the country to its member states in 1987. Norwegian companies have supplied hardware for a wide range of missions and equipment. All Ariane-5 rockets rely on Norwegian-made explosive bolts that separate the fuel tanks from the main thrusters. Due to Norway's large shipping fleet the country has always been at the forefront of telecommunications. Many satellites launched today use Norwegian electronics.
Air monitors built in Norway have been a success on the International Space Station, and chambers for growing plants in the Space Station's greenhouse were also developed there. To reflect on these achievements and to look towards the future, the Norwegian Space Centre has organised a four day programme of talks and festivities including open days of the Andoya rocket facility.
- Room For All...china Sends A Woman Into Space
"China sends first woman into space" June 2912 USA TODAYChina launched its most ambitious space mission yet on Saturday, carrying its first female astronaut and two male colleagues in an attempt to dock with an orbiting module and work on board for more...
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In this image from Rossiya 24 television channel, a Soyuz rocket booster carrying the Progress supply ship is launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Wednesday. The spacecraft, which was bound for the International Space Station, failed to...
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Crew Space Transportation-100 [CST-100] "Boeing unveils its commercial capsule spacecraft" July 22nd, 2010 PhysOrg.com Boeing won an award worth $18 million from NASA under the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Space Act Agreement, which was intended...
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Get real Mr. Bolden...you are wearing horse blinders and not understanding NASA's current position and economic reality. "Embattled NASA chief vows to outline path to Mars" by David Shiga February 25th, 2010 NewScientist NASA chief Charles Bolden...
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Short term preservation. Long term preservation. Well, there are food banks, sperm banks, and now "seed" banks. A good idea? Yes. Just in the event of a man-made or natural catastrophe, it is a good idea to save what feeds humans. Svalbard Global...