The US and Sweden have signed a Technology Security Agreement (TSA). It allows American rockets to be launched from Swedish territory.
Orbital rockets are subject to strict export controls due to the potential military application of this technology. As a result, the US has only signed TSAs with a few countries to date, including Australia and the UK.
Now Sweden has been added to this short list. The signing ceremony took place on June 20 at the Swedish Embassy in Washington. It authorizes the export of American rockets and their launch from Swedish territory.
The signing of the agreement paves the way for Firefly Aerospace to launch its Alpha rockets from the Esrange spaceport in northern Sweden. A year ago, it announced that it had reached an agreement with the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). The first Alpha launch from the spaceport is scheduled for 2026. Esrange already has some of the necessary infrastructure in place. This includes a launch control center and tracking systems.
“Finalization of the TSA gets us one step closer to launching our Alpha rocket from Sweden and filling a void for the European satellite market,” said Adam Oakes, Firefly’s vice president of launches. “This TSA agreement removes the regulatory barriers and provides customers with additional assurance that the U.S. and Sweden are committed to an orbital launch capability from Esrange.”
Oakes previously stated that Firefly was interested in launches from Sweden, as well as from Wallops Island in Virginia, to avoid “traffic jams” at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the site from which Alpha has been launched to date.
At the same time, it is worth recalling that the Alpha launch in April ended in failure due to the destruction of the upper stage engine nozzle. As a result, the rocket was unable to reach first cosmic velocity and fell into the ocean along with its payload — a Lockheed Martin demonstration satellite. At this point, Firefly has not disclosed the reason for the failure or how it will affect the company’s plans to launch Alpha.
According to Spacenews
