Andøya Rocket Range
Encyclopedia
Andøya Rocket Range is a rocket launch site and rocket range on Andøya
island (the northernmost in the Vesterålen
archipelago) in Andøy
municipality in northern Norway
. Since 1962, over 1,200 sounding rocket
s of all known configurations have been launched from this site.
Andøya Rocket Range is a civilian facility owned 90% by the Royal Ministry of Trade and Industry, Norway, and 10% by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
. It operates on a commercial basis.
From 1997, a second launch site at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard was established, enabling scientists to launch sounding rocket 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 is considered unique in atmospheric research in the Arctic. The range is also host of northern Europe's largest MF
-radar.
Andøya Rocket Range has also been involved in building Norway's first student satellites, the nCube satellites, and hosts a number of student activities like the European Space Camp
organized by the Norwegian Association of Young Scientists, The Norwegian Centre for Space Related Education, and the Canadian–Norwegian Student Exchange & Rocket Programme (CaNoRock).
In 1995, a 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 the Russians understood that it was not heading towards Russia. Press photos of Yeltsin with the launch command briefcase were distributed worldwide. The Russians were informed in advance about the launch by the rocket range personnel, but this information was lost in the Russian military organisation.
Andøy
Andøy is the northernmost municipality in Nordland county, Norway, and it belongs to the Vesterålen archipelago. The largest island in the municipality is Andøya. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andenes....
island (the northernmost in the Vesterålen
Vesterålen
Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland, Norway, just north of Lofoten.-The name:The Norse forms of the name were Vestráll and Vestrálar . The first element is vestr n west, the last element is áll m ' sound, strait'...
archipelago) in Andøy
Andøy
Andøy is the northernmost municipality in Nordland county, Norway, and it belongs to the Vesterålen archipelago. The largest island in the municipality is Andøya. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andenes....
municipality in northern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. Since 1962, over 1,200 sounding rocket
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
s of all known configurations have been launched from this site.
Andøya Rocket Range is a civilian facility owned 90% by the Royal Ministry of Trade and Industry, Norway, and 10% by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace , one of two operating companies of Kongsberg Gruppen of Norway, is a supplier of defence and space related systems and products, mainly anti-ship missiles, military communications, and command and weapons control systems for naval vessels and air-defence applications...
. It operates on a commercial basis.
From 1997, a second launch site at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard was established, enabling scientists to launch sounding rocket straight in the polar cusp, where the earth's magnetic field lines converge.
A ground based lidar
LIDAR
LIDAR is an optical remote sensing technology that can measure the distance to, or other properties of a target by illuminating the target with light, often using pulses from a laser...
observatory, ALOMAR (Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research) opened in 1994, and is considered unique in atmospheric research in the Arctic. The range is also host of northern Europe's largest MF
Medium frequency
Medium frequency refers to radio frequencies in the range of 300 kHz to 3 MHz. Part of this band is the medium wave AM broadcast band. The MF band is also known as the hectometer band or hectometer wave as the wavelengths range from ten down to one hectometers...
-radar.
Andøya Rocket Range has also been involved in building Norway's first student satellites, the nCube satellites, and hosts a number of student activities like the European Space Camp
European Space Camp
European Space Camp is a summer camp for youths aged 17–20, which focuses on giving a hands-on experience into the field of aerospace engineering and launch vehicles. Participants from all over Europe and the world stay at Andøya Rocket Range for one week, learning from professionals and becoming...
organized by the Norwegian Association of Young Scientists, The Norwegian Centre for Space Related Education, and the Canadian–Norwegian Student Exchange & Rocket Programme (CaNoRock).
In 1995, a sounding rocket launched from Andøya caused a high alert in Russia, known as the Norwegian rocket incident
Norwegian rocket incident
The Norwegian rocket incident refers to a few minutes of post-Cold War nuclear tension that took place on January 25, 1995, more than four years after the end of the Cold War...
. The Russians thought it might be a nuclear missile launched from an American submarine. President Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
was alerted for a possible counter strike, when the Russians understood that it was not heading towards Russia. Press photos of Yeltsin with the launch command briefcase were distributed worldwide. The Russians were informed in advance about the launch by the rocket range personnel, but this information was lost in the Russian military organisation.
Pads
- LC5 69.2944°N 16.0198°E
- LC9 69.2941°N 16.0188°E
- LC10 69.2940°N 16.0185°E
- Athena 69.2943°N 16.0207°E
- Haugnes 69.2800°N 16.1800°E
- U3 69.2943°N 16.0207°E