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36-584: Andøya Space , also named Andøya Space Center and formerly Andøya Rocket Range , is a rocket launch site , rocket range , and spaceport on Andøya island (the northernmost in the Vesterålen archipelago) in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway . Since 1962, over 1,200 sounding and sub-orbital rockets of various configurations have been launched from the site. Andøya Space
72-425: A list of rocket launch sites . Some of these sites are known as spaceports or cosmodromes. A single rocket launch is sufficient for inclusion in the table, as long as the site is properly documented through a reference. Missile locations with no launches are not included in the list. Proposed and planned sites and sites under construction are not included in the main tabulation, but may appear in condensed lists under
108-430: A rocket system called North Star that will use a standardized hybrid motor , clustered in different numbers and arrangements, to build two types of sounding rockets and an orbital launcher " that would be able to deliver a 10 kg (22 lb) nanosat into polar orbit . Andøya Spaceport was established as a project in 2018, with the aim of establishing the first European launch base for small satellites. It
144-493: A driving factor in spaceport placement because most of the delta-v for a launch is spent on achieving the required horizontal orbital speed . The small gain from a few kilometers of extra altitude does not usually off-set the logistical costs of ground transport in mountainous terrain. Many spaceports have been placed at existing military installations, such as intercontinental ballistic missile ranges, which are not always physically ideal sites for launch. A rocket launch site
180-605: A height of 102 km into the atmosphere. Launching and collecting data after the first rocket was considered a success. Ferdinand 1 became the first of many successful rocket launches from Andøya . In 1997, a second launch site— Svalbard Rocket Range —was established at Ny-Ålesund , Svalbard , enabling scientists to launch sounding rockets straight in the polar cusp , where the Earth's magnetic field lines converge. A ground-based, lidar observatory, ALOMAR (Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research) opened in 1994, and
216-471: A table of spaceports and launch complexes for vertical launchers with documented achieved launches of humans to space (more than 100 km (62 mi) altitude). The sorting order is spaceport by spaceport according to the time of the first human launch. † Three of the Soyuz missions were uncrewed and are not counted ( Soyuz 2 , Soyuz 20 , Soyuz 34 ). ‡ STS-51-L ( Challenger ) failed to reach orbit and
252-657: Is a civilian, limited liability company with its ownership split between two groups: 90% by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry , and 10% by Kongsberg Defence Systems company. It operates on a commercial basis. Andøya Space also supports the SvalRak launch facility in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard to the north. The facility has provided operations for both ESA , NASA , JAXA and DLR missions and related scientific research. On August 18, 1962,
288-566: Is built as far as possible away from major population centers in order to mitigate risk to bystanders should a rocket experience a catastrophic failure. In many cases a launch site is built close to major bodies of water to ensure that no components are shed over populated areas. Typically a spaceport site is large enough that, should a vehicle explode, it will not endanger human lives or adjacent launch pads. Planned sites of spaceports for sub-orbital tourist spaceflight often make use of existing ground infrastructure, including runways. The nature of
324-607: Is considered unique in atmospheric research in the Arctic. The range is also host of northern Europe's largest VHF -radar. In 1995, a Black Brant sounding rocket launched from Andøya caused a high alert in Russia, known as the Norwegian Rocket Incident . The Russians thought it might be a nuclear missile launched from an American submarine. President Boris Yeltsin was alerted for a possible counter strike, when
360-405: Is mainly satellites for Earth observation and communications that are planned to be launched from Andøya, in polar- or Sun-synchronous orbit. In polar orbit, the satellite passes above or near the Earth's poles at each orbit. This is favorable for Norway as they then provide good satellite coverage of Norwegian areas, good communication and sea monitoring in the north. Sun-synchronous orbit means that
396-452: Is not counted. STS-107 ( Columbia ) reached orbit and is therefore included in the count (disaster struck on re-entry). Crewed Missions failed to reach Kármán line: Soyuz T-10a (1983) STS-51-L (1986) Soyuz MS-10 (2018) The following is a table of spaceports with a documented achieved launch to orbit. The table is sorted according to the time of the first launch that achieved satellite orbit insertion. The first column gives
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#1732791924875432-527: Is still its main focus. Other activities are UAVs , lidar and radar measurements for atmospheric research and also a test center for missiles through its subsidiary Andøya Test Center. Andøya has been proposed as a spaceport for launching orbital Nanosatellite launch vehicles (NLVs). In January 2013, the Nammo company and the Andøya Space Center announced that they would be " developing
468-557: Is the major European spaceport, with satellite launches that benefit from the location 5 degrees north of the equator. In October 2003 the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center achieved the first Chinese human spaceflight. Breaking with tradition, in June 2004 on a runway at Mojave Air and Space Port , California, a human was for the first time launched to space in a privately funded, suborbital spaceflight, that
504-454: The Earth's rotational speed (465 m/s at the equator). Such launches also provide a desirable orientation for arriving at a geostationary orbit . For polar orbits and Molniya orbits this does not apply. In principle, advantages of high altitude launch are reduced vertical distance to travel and a thinner atmosphere for the rocket to penetrate. However, altitude of the launch site is not
540-788: The Moon , Mars , orbiting the Earth, at Sun-Earth and Earth-Moon Lagrange points , and at other locations in the Solar System . Human-tended outposts on the Moon or Mars, for example, will be spaceports by definition. The 2012 Space Studies Program of the International Space University studied the economic benefit of a network of spaceports throughout the solar system beginning from Earth and expanding outwardly in phases, within its team project Operations And Service Infrastructure for Space (OASIS). Its analysis claimed that
576-406: The Moon are sometimes called spaceports, in particular if intended as a base for further journeys. The term rocket launch site is used for any facility from which rockets are launched. It may contain one or more launch pads or suitable sites to mount a transportable launch pad. It is typically surrounded by a large safety area, often called a rocket range or missile range . The range includes
612-521: The Russians understood that it was not heading towards Russia. Russia was informed in advance about the launch, but this information was lost in the Russian bureaucracy, and never reached the radar operators; only seafarers were notified. The space center changed its name from Andøya Rocket Range on 6 June 2014 to reflect an increased focus on also other activities than sounding rockets, though rocketry
648-578: The area of the Rocket Range was called Oksebåsen, "The Ox Pasture". This was during the Cold War , so the name should also indicate that Andøya Rocket Range only had peaceful intentions with its research. Ferdinand-1 was a NIKE-Cajun two-stage rocket that carried two instruments in its payload. The purpose of the launch was to do measurements in the ionosphere, where charged particles from the Sun ionize
684-958: The area over which launched rockets are expected to fly, and within which some components of the rockets may land. Tracking stations are sometimes located in the range to assess the progress of the launches. Major spaceports often include more than one launch complex , which can be rocket launch sites adapted for different types of launch vehicles . (These sites can be well-separated for safety reasons.) For launch vehicles with liquid propellant, suitable storage facilities and, in some cases, production facilities are necessary. On-site processing facilities for solid propellants are also common. A spaceport may also include runways for takeoff and landing of aircraft to support spaceport operations, or to enable support of HTHL or horizontal takeoff and vertical landing (HTVL) winged launch vehicles. The first rockets to reach space were V-2 rockets launched from Peenemünde , Germany in 1944 during World War II . After
720-480: The atoms. The process is most intense in the polar ionosphere, and is important not only for the Northern Lights , but also for long-range radio communication, because the free electrons reflect the radio waves. The goal was to explore the possibility of improving long-range radio communication. The rocket was 7.7 m long, had a total weight of 698 kg and a maximum speed of 6760 km/h. It reached
756-519: The cosmodrome was initially held secret. Guesses to its location were misdirected by a name in common with a mining town 320 km away. The position became known in 1957 outside the Soviet Union only after U-2 planes had identified the site by following railway lines in the Kazakh SSR , although Soviet authorities did not confirm the location for decades. The Baikonur Cosmodrome achieved
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#1732791924875792-675: The early human flights, were carried out at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station . For the Apollo programme, an adjacent spaceport, Kennedy Space Center , was constructed, and achieved the first crewed mission to the lunar surface ( Apollo 11 ) in July 1969. It was the base for all Space Shuttle launches and most of their runway landings. For details on the launch complexes of the two spaceports, see List of Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island launch sites . The Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana,
828-602: The first launch of a human into space ( Yuri Gagarin ) in 1961. The launch complex used, Site 1, has reached a special symbolic significance and is commonly called Gagarin's Start . Baikonur was the primary Soviet cosmodrome, and is still frequently used by Russia under a lease arrangement with Kazakhstan. In response to the early Soviet successes, the United States built up a major spaceport complex at Cape Canaveral in Florida. A large number of uncrewed flights, as well as
864-606: The first orbital launch site in continental Europe which will bring this access to space to Norway, and back to Europe. For Isar Aerospace, this step equals entering the final stages of our path to first flight. For Europe, it means being able to harness the power of the space platform.” Andøya has six launch pads during all or part of its life as a launch site: 69°17′39″N 16°01′15″E / 69.29417°N 16.02083°E / 69.29417; 16.02083 ( Andoya Rocket Range ) Rocket launch site Download coordinates as: This article constitutes
900-561: The first phase, placing the "Node 1" spaceport with space tug services in low Earth orbit (LEO), would be commercially profitable and reduce transportation costs to geosynchronous orbit by as much as 44% (depending on the launch vehicle). The second phase would add a Node 2 spaceport on the lunar surface to provide services including lunar ice mining and delivery of rocket propellants back to Node 1. This would enable lunar surface activities and further reduce transportation costs within and out from cislunar space . The third phase would add
936-442: The geographical location. Operations from a different country are indicated in the fourth column. A launch is counted as one also in cases where the payload consists of multiple satellites. 4 Qaem 100 The following table shows spaceports with documented achieved launches of humans to at least 100 km altitude, starting from a horizontal runway. All the flights were sub-orbital . Spaceports have been proposed for locations on
972-705: The importance of our endeavor and puts us on the New Space map in Europe.” Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace said: “Today, Norway, the Andøya region and Isar Aerospace take a big step towards space. Over the last five years, we have built a rocket that will help to solve the most crucial bottleneck in the European space industry – sovereign and competitive access to space. Together with Andøya Spaceport, our team has created an excellent piece of engineering,
1008-399: The local view from 100 km (62 mi) altitude is also a factor to consider. The space tourism industry (see List of private spaceflight companies ) is being targeted by spaceports in numerous locations worldwide. e.g. Spaceport America , New Mexico. The establishment of spaceports for tourist trips raises legal issues, which are only beginning to be addressed. The following is
1044-479: The rocket that was to take Norway into the space age, Ferdinand 1, launched from Andøya Rocket Range. This happened only five years after the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1 . The Norwegian scientists named the rocket "Ferdinand" after the story of the peaceful bull that did not like to fight but would rather sit in the meadow smelling the flowers. The name was appropriate since
1080-435: The satellite passes a given latitude to two fixed local times, one for northbound and one for southbound passage. The satellite's orbital plane rotates eastwards approx. 1 degree per day, and so it maintains the angle with respect to the sunlight and gets most light for its solar cells. In this way, satellites for Earth observation receive data with an equal amount of sunlight and can thus use data to analyze changes that occur on
1116-847: The section Asia. Please delete items or move them to the table above with appropriate data and references. Please delete items or move them to the table above with appropriate data and references. Spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft , by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word spaceport , and even more so cosmodrome , has traditionally been used for sites capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around Earth or on interplanetary trajectories. However, rocket launch sites for purely sub-orbital flights are sometimes called spaceports, as in recent years new and proposed sites for suborbital human flights have been frequently referred to or named "spaceports". Space stations and proposed future bases on
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1152-477: The surface throughout the year. Norway funded the site with NOK 365.6 million, expecting a commercial return of the investment. Isar Aerospace of Germany signed an agreement with Andøya Space, securing exclusive access for a period of up to twenty years to one launch pad on the island Andøya. As a launch site operator, the Andøya Spaceport provides launch pads, payload integration facilities as well as
1188-813: The tables. A shorter list of spaceports for human spaceflight and satellite launches is available in the article Spaceport . Major/active spaceports are shown in bold . Note that some Russian cosmodromes appear in this section, some in the Europe section. Al-Abid (Operated by [REDACTED] Russia ) (Partly operated by [REDACTED] Russia ) Note that some European countries operate spaceports in Africa, South America, or other equatorial regions. These spaceports are listed in this article according to their geographical location. Some Russian-controlled launch sites are listed as being in Asia. Note that some Russian cosmodromes appear in this section, some in
1224-421: The technical infrastructure on site. Ingun Berget, President of Andøya Spaceport said: “The opening of the spaceport on Andøya island marks an important milestone for Norway, European New Space industry and our partnership with Isar Aerospace: This enables us to have the first satellite launches ever from European soil to take place from Andøya. The attendance of today's opening by Crown Prince Haakon underlines
1260-535: The war, 70 complete V-2 rockets were brought to White Sands for test launches, with 47 of them reaching altitudes between 100 km and 213 km. The world's first spaceport for orbital and human launches, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan , started as a Soviet military rocket range in 1955. It achieved the first orbital flight ( Sputnik 1 ) in October 1957. The exact location of
1296-427: Was intended to pave the way for future commercial spaceflights. The spacecraft, SpaceShipOne , was launched by a carrier airplane taking off horizontally. At Cape Canaveral, SpaceX in 2015 made the first successful landing and recovery of a first stage used in a vertical satellite launch. Rockets can most easily reach satellite orbits if launched near the equator in an easterly direction, as this maximizes use of
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