Sweden is looking to establish itself as a key player in the international space domain by virtue of its northern geostrategic position and by ramping up research and development capabilities. The Swedish government adopted the country’s first-ever defense and security space strategy earlier this month, aiming to make Stockholm a space hub for allies. Northern Sweden is home to the Esrange Space Center, Europe’s first mainland orbital spaceport which has launched sounding rockets and tested rocket engines and fuels.
In May, the Swedish Space Corporation signed an agreement with South Korean rocket company Perigee Aerospace to begin jointly launching satellites from the Arctic site in 2025. The Blue Whale 1 micro-launcher will be the “first-ever orbital rocket” set off from Esrange, potentially for military purposes. Another key pillar of the Swedish space strategy is to create a portfolio of space-related capabilities and services in line with the country’s “total defense and crisis preparedness” concept.
Last year, the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration acquired Smart-L long-range radars from Thales, which allows the military to detect threats at a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. Sweden is collaborating with the Netherlands, which also has the Smart-L radar, to evaluate further use cases. The Swedish Air Force signed a Space Situational Awareness sharing agreement with the U.S. Space Command in 2022 and recently participated in the U.S.-led Global Sentinel space exercise in February.
