The first spaceport in continental Europe is operational. Andøya Spaceport was opened on Nov. 2 by H.R.H Crown Prince Haakon in an official ceremony.
The spaceport is part of Andøya Space and is located in Nordmela on Norway’s Andøya island. It will be the launch site of the European launch service company Isar Aerospace. The opening of Andøya Spaceport is, therefore, an important milestone in the journey of Isar Aerospace to the launchpad. It will be the starting point for the company’s first test flight of its two-stage launch vehicle, Spectrum.
"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."From its location far north of a coastline, Andøya Spaceport is ideal for launching satellites that will need a sun-synchronous orbit around.
The aerospace market currently has a strong demand for launch sites capable of boosting satellites to such types of orbits, as these locations are in short supply globally. "The opening of the spaceport on Andøya island marks an important milestone for Norway, European New Space industry, and our partnership with Isar Aerospace," President of Andøya Spaceport, Ingun Berget, said in the statement."This enables us to have the first satellite launches ever from European soil to take place from Andøya.