From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rocket launch site in Svalbard, Norway
The
Svalbard Rocket Range
or
SvalRak
as it is named, is a
launch site
for
sounding rockets
at
Ny-Alesund
in
Svalbard, Norway
.
[1]
The site has been in use since 1997 and is owned by
Andøya Space Center
, which is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries and the
Kongsberg Group
. SvalRak's location at the
79th parallel north
makes it well-suited for launching rockets to investigate
Earth's magnetic field
. It is used mostly by American, Japanese and Norwegian researchers. It is the world's northernmost launch site.
History
[
edit
]
Planning of a launch site in Ny-Alesund started in 1993,
[2]
a location chosen because of its ideal location to study the polar cusp.
[3]
Construction of the site started in the summer of 1997.
[4]
The
Norwegian Institute for Air Research
, which conducts air measurements in Ny-Alesund, was concerned that the rockets could pollute their measurements.
[5]
A test rocket was launched on 15 November.
[6]
The first proper launch was an Indian
Rohini
RH-300 MkII
[7]
sounding rocket purchased from
ISRO
and christened
Isbjørn 1 (Polar Bear 1)
.
[8]
This rocket contained instruments from
University Centre in Svalbard
, the
University of Tromsø
and the
Norwegian Defence Research Establishment
.
[4]
The 510-kilogram (1,120 lb) rocket had a
payload
of 70 kilograms (150 lb) and reached 120 kilometers (75 mi) altitude.
[6]
It was followed by two
Black Brant
rockets for the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
which reached an altitude of 500 kilometers (310 mi).
[9]
SvalRak is the world's northernmost rocket launch site, and is located at the 79th parallel north.
[6]
This makes it an ideal location for sending instruments into Earth's magnetic field and the polar cups, cleft and cup.
[3]
It is also used for studying the
Magnetopause
and
aurora borealis
, for which Ny-Alesund is the most convenient location because of its ease of access.
[4]
It is owned by Andøya Space Center, which is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries (90 percent) and the Kongsberg Group (10 percent). SvalRak has no permanent staff in Ny-Alesund.
[3]
The main users are American, Japanese and to a less extent Norwegian scientists.
[10]
Launches
[
edit
]
SvalRak originally held permission to fire four rockets every two years.
[4]
Forty-one rockets had been launched by 2004, with a peak altitude of 1,108 kilometers (688 mi).
[1]
The site was upgraded in 2018.
[3]
Date
|
Vehicle
|
Description
|
Agency
|
Apogee (km)
|
1997 November 20
|
RH-300 Mk II
|
ISBJORN-1 Ionosphere mission
|
NDRE
|
71
|
1997 November 20
|
Viper 3A
|
ISBJORN-2 (MD-5) Aeronomy mission
|
NDRE
|
97
|
1997 December 2
|
Black Brant IX
|
Plasma mission
|
NASA
|
433
|
1997 December 3
|
Black Brant IX
|
Plasma mission
|
NASA
|
446
|
2000 December 4
|
SS-520
|
Ionosphere mission
|
ISAS
|
1108
|
2001 July 16
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
108
|
2001 July 19
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
105
|
2001 July 22
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 July 22
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 July 25
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 July 28
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 July 31
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 July 31
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 2
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 6
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 9
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 12
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 17
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 17
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 20
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 20
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 23
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 27
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 28
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 28
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 August 29
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 1
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 5
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 6
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 8
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 11
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 11
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 14
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 14
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2001 September 14
|
Viper 3A
|
ROMA Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
100
|
2002 December 14
|
Black Brant 10CM1
|
Plasma mission
|
NASA
|
772
|
2003 July 1
|
Improved Orion
|
ROMA 2003 Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
85
|
2003 July 4
|
Improved Orion
|
ROMA 2003 Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
85
|
2003 July 6
|
Improved Orion
|
ROMA 2003 Aeronomy mission
|
DLR
|
85
|
2003 November 28
|
Nike
Improved Orion
|
FAILURE: Failure
|
NDRE
|
12
|
2004 January 22
|
Black Brant 10CM1
|
SERSIO Plasma mission
|
NASA
|
790
|
2008 December 5
|
VS-30
/
Orion
|
ARR ICI-2
|
Sweden
|
|
2011 December 3
|
VS-30/Orion
|
ICI-3
|
Sweden
|
354
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"SvalRak"
.
www.astronautix.com
. Retrieved
2023-12-04
.
- ^
Rødberg, Ole Anders; Collett, John Petter (October 2004).
"Norwegian Space Activities 1958?2003: A Historical Overview"
(PDF)
.
European Space Agency
. p. 48. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 29 April 2014
. Retrieved
10 April
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Other Research Institutions in Ny-Alesund"
.
Kings Bay
. May 1997. Archived from
the original
on 14 April 2012
. Retrieved
30 October
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"SvalRak: Sounding Rocket Launch Facility in Ny-Alesund"
. Ny-Alesund Science Managers Committee. May 1997. Archived from
the original
on 23 February 2013
. Retrieved
30 October
2012
.
- ^
Sellevag, Inge (15 November 1997). "?Spent pa Svalbardrakettene".
Bergens Tidende
(in Norwegian). p. 34.
- ^
a
b
c
Larsen, Rolf L. (16 November 1997). "Romfartshistorie pa 79° nord".
Aftenposten
(in Norwegian).
- ^
From fishing hamlet to red planet : India's space journey
. Manoranjan Rao, P. V.,, Suresh, B. N.,, Balagangadharan, V. P.,, Indian Space Research Organisation. Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. 15 December 2015.
ISBN
9789351776895
.
OCLC
933430784
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
) CS1 maint: others (
link
)
- ^
"When An Indian Rocket Shot Up Into The Norwegian Sky"
.
Spansen.com
.
- ^
Sellevag, Inge (15 November 1997). "?Svar ikke nødvendig".
Bergens Tidende
(in Norwegian). p. 34.
- ^
"St.meld. nr. 22 (2008-2009) Svalbard"
(in Norwegian). 17 April 2009
. Retrieved
30 October
2012
.
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