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Mainland Europe’s first satellite launch complex officially opened today at Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Northern Sweden.
The opening takes place in conjunction with Sweden taking over the presidency of the Council of the EU. The King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf, the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (the Moderate Party) were present.
Kiruna is perhaps best known for its mining industry. However, the space industry also plays an important role. Sweden’s only space base is located just outside the center of Kiruna and is one of two European space bases.
“This is a great moment for Europe and the European space industry. This space range is just the infrastructure we need,” said EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, during the opening ceremony. She highlighted the importance of satellites when it comes to security, the green shift, climate change, and natural disasters, i.a.
“If we want to effectively track the effects of climate change, space offers 60 percent of the measurements we need. The space perspective provides us with the majority of the data we need to understand what is going on,” she adds.
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