Andøya Space and NASA have had a close cooperation since the very beginning of Andøya Space back in the 1960s. Telemetry equipment on loan from NASA supported the very first launch of a Norwegian research rocket on August 18th, 1962. Four years later – on March 21st, 1966 – the very first NASA mission launched from Andøya.
Since then, over three hundred NASA missions have taken to the skies above Norway, and the cooperation runs deep. In 2018, NASA made its largest shipment ever of rocket motors to a foreign country to participate in the international Grand Challenge Cusp-research campaign.
– The history we share with NASA is long and close, says Kolbjørn Blix, Vice President Sub-Orbital. – And we’re very proud to be able to support them in their pursuit of scientific discoveries.
– This August, for instance, NASA published exciting news of a new global electric field. The science data for this came from a NASA sounding rocket launched from Andøya Space’s facilities at Svalbard (link below).
Andøya Space was recently visited by Ms Sandra Connelly, who is the Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The directorate runs a diverse portfolio of missions in a number of fields such as heliophysics, Earth science and astrophysics.
The visit occured during the preparation phase of an ongoing NASA launch campaign at Andøya Space, the VortEx 2 mission. Ms Connelly met with the launch team, and with the other business areas of Andøya Space. Her visit concluded with a tour of the new Norwegian spaceport, where preparations are underway to launch satellites into polar and sun-synchronized orbits.
– NASA’s longstanding partnership with Norway and the Andøya Space Center is critical for understanding our home planet and how our atmosphere interfaces with space, said Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters.
Photo: NASA.
– I am looking forward to the launch of the VortEx 2 mission and the incredible science it will deliver as we learn more about how these hurricane-like waves, created by Earth’s topography and weather, can impact the upper part of our atmosphere.
– We’ve launched 320 research missions together with NASA so far, says Blix. – And that includes missions that are not possible to conduct anywhere else. Through our collaborative multinational Grand Challenge Initiatives, we want to achieve more science for the money, and having NASA onboard is a great boost for other countries’ participation. We’ve already completed the Grand Challenge Cusp (2018-2021), where research missions from three countries focused on the polar cusp region.
– We are now conducting the Grand Challenge ML/T (2022-2026), where scientists from eight countries focus on the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region of the atmosphere. And we’re now in the midst of defining the third Grand Challenge, which will be named CUSP Solar Max (2025-2030) , says Blix.
– And with the establishment of the new Norwegian spaceport, Andøya Space have gained new, additional ways to support NASA and continue our partnership of science, Blix concludes.
Two NASA research rockets launched from Andøya Space on November 10, 2024, to study energy transfer between the lower and upper atmosphere.
– The main scientific objective for VortEx 2 is to study how winds and energy from the lower parts of the atmosphere affect the upper parts, says Thomas Gansmoe, Director Sounding Rockets & Engineering Services at Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – The focus of the experiment is to figure out how gravity waves interact with each other, and how these interactions form vortices.
The two research rockets in the mission launched two minutes apart, and the first lift-off occurred Nov 10, at 21:36:00 UTC, reaching a apogee of 358 kilometers, while the second launch vehicle reached 144 kilometers.
The live stream from the launches.
– The first vehicle carried with it 16 canisters of trimethyl aluminum (TMA) which was released into the atmosphere, creating glowing clouds, says Gansmoe. – These clouds was then tracked from four ground-based observation sites. The purpose was to visualize atmosphere turbulence and the formation of vortices.
– I would like to thank our launch customer NASA Goddard for an excellent cooperation, and congratulate on a highly successful mission, Gansmoe finishes.
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
Two NASA sub-orbital research rockets are ready to launch on their mission to study the formation of vortices in the upper parts of the atmosphere.
A combined team from Andøya Space and NASA Wallops Flight Facility have in the last few weeks worked to prepare two sub-orbital research rockets for their upcoming launch campaign
– They were originally scheduled to launch in 2023, together with two other rockets who did launch, says Thomas Gansmoe, Director Sounding Rockets & Engineering Services at Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – But for various reasons the launches had to be postponed.
Vorticity Experiment (VortEx)
– The main scientific objective for these two remaining launch vehicles is to study how winds and energy from the lower parts of the atmosphere affect the upper parts, says Gansmoe.
The focus of the experiment is to figure out how gravity waves interact with each other, and how these interactions form vortices.
– These vortices can be thought of as small whirlpools of spinning air, Gansmoe says. – It is basic research, and the knowledge gained here can be applied to various fields from oceanography to astrophysics.
– One of the launch vehicles contain canisters of trimethyl aluminum (TMA) which will be released in the upper part of the atmosphere, Gansmoe says. – This will create several glowing clouds which will visualize turbulence and vortices. Four ground stations will observe how these clouds behaves in the minutes after launch.
– The clouds pose no hazards to residents in the region, says Gansmoe. – These kinds of experiments have been done before from Andøya Space with great success. The clouds will be visible over a large area.
The clouds from the launch in 2023.
The principal investigator for this mission is Dr. Gerald Lehmacher from Clemson University, and the launch customer is the Sounding Rockets Program Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
– The launch vehicles have been designed and built by NASA Wallops Flight Facility, says Gansmoe. – And the launch campaign will be conducted from Andøya Space Sub-Orbital’s launch facility at Andøya.
Supported by groundbased instrumentation
Several groundbased instrumentation will support the launch campaign by performing remote sensing to determine the best time for launch, and at the same time gathering additional data for the scientists who are to analyze the results from this project.
– The Alomar Observatory will perform lidar measurements, and the project will also use radars and an airglow imager, Gansmoe finishes.
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
The hypersonic test vehicle BOLT-1B has conducted a successful flight in northern Norway.
The term hypersonic refer to travelling through the atmosphere at speeds greater than Mach 5, which will introduce new challenges for engineers such as intense aerodynamic heating, material durability as well as new airflow challenges.
– The BOLT-1B mission is designed to look more detailed into airflow, says Thomas Gansmoe, Director of Sounding rockets and Engineering services at Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – More specifically how the mechanisms work at hypersonic speeds when going from laminar flow to turbulent flow on specific parts of the flight vehicle’s surface.
Rewatch the live stream from BOLT-1B. Credit: Andøya Space.
BOLT-1B is a project coordinated by the Air Force Office og Scientific Research from USA and is carried out by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), the Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate (AFRL/RQ), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
Principal investigator is Dr. Brad Wheaton from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).
The test vehicle lifted off from the Andøya Space Sub-Orbital launch site at Sept 2nd, 2024, 11:41:01 local time and reached an apogee of 254 kilometers before safely splashing down inside the impact and dispersion area. BOLT-1B completed all test objectives, and the launch team now has a lot of data to analyze in the months ahead.
– Andøya Space Sub-Orbital is proud to have supported the BOLT-1B launch campaign, says Thomas Gansmoe, Director of Sounding rockets and Engineering services at Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – We wish to congratulate the entire team with a highly successful and important test campaign. The effects of boundary layer transition are some of the greatest uncertainty sources for designing a hypersonic vehicle. The data gathered from this flight will help engineers design future hypersonic vehicles, Gansmoe finishes.
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
A NASA research rocket, launched from Andøya Space’s launch facility at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, has confirmed the existence of a new and global electric field.
Satellites in polar orbits have long noticed that the atmosphere is leaking particles from the atmosphere in the polar regions out to space. This leak was in 1968 coined the name the «polar wind».
– Scientists have suspected that a new and unknown electric field is behind the leak, says Kolbjørn Blix, head of Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – It was believed that one of the reasons this field hadn’t been measured before was that is was very, very weak, weaker than what was technically possible to measure at the time.
In 2016, a group of scientists, lead by Glyn Collinson at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Catholic University of America, invented a new instrument which would, in theory, capable of measuring the unknown field.
– To give the new instrument the chance to do its job, it was decided to launch it onboard a sub-orbital research rocket from Ny-Ålesund, says Blix.
The northern location of Andøya Space’s launch facility at Svalbard makes it the only launch facility in the world where you can launch directly into the «polar wind».
Photo: Brian Bonsteel, NASA
On May 11th, 2022, at 03:31 local time, the american research rocket Endurance lifted off from launch pad S2 at Svalbard, and flew up 768,03 kilometers altitude, through the «polar wind» while performing its measurements.
– Modern research rockets gathers a fantastic amount of data, says Blix. – And it has taken a couple of years to go through everything, but Endurance did its job, and has confirmed that there is a ambipolar electric field on earth which is regarded to be as fundamental as the magnetic field and gravity.
– To illustrate how weak this field is; during its flight Endurance measured a tiny 0.55 volt difference in electric potential, says Blix. – But it was enough for the scientists to explain the «polar wind». As weak as this field is, it is still capable of launching hydrogen ions out to space at supersonic speeds.
– This is incredibly exciting, Blix says enthusiastically. – This has now opened up for new and interesting questions. How has this field helped form life on Earth, does it exist on other planets and so on. The findings from Endurance is now published by NASA, including in the scientific magazine Nature.
– We here at Andøya Space Sub-Orbital is of course very proud of having supported the Endurance project, says Blix.
– The EISCAT radar on Svalbard, supported by the Norwegian and British research councils, also contributed by performing simultaneous radar measurements which helped the scientists interpret the data from Endurance.
– This shows the importance of doing basic research. Scientists have studied the atmosphere for centuries and suddenly something new pops up which turns upside down on what you though you knew.
– The Endurance project and Andøya Space was given a prestigous NASA Group Achievement Award, says Blix. – Previous recipiants has been the James Webb Telescope and Parker Solar Probe.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
The importance of understanding and monitoring atmospheric physics has increased drastically in recent years due to the anthropogenic impact on climate.
One crucial research field is the understanding of wind and temperature distributions in the atmosphere to enhance climate models and improve weather forecasts.
Advancing atmospheric research with lidar technology
Andøya Space is partner in the EU-funded EULIAA project which aims for the development of a European lidar array autonomously measuring the atmospheric winds and temperature from 5 km up to 50 km in hard to reach areas over a long period of time.
EULIAA is an acronym for European Lidar Array for Atmospheric Climate Monitoring, and Andøya Space, with the Alomar Observatory, is one of seven partners in the project, which not only aims to improve lidar measurements, but also making the data available in near real time into European databases such as Copernicus.
Recent visit
Together with our project partners from Bundesamt für Meteorologie und Klimatologie MeteoSchweiz and Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), our project manager Laura-Kristin Scholtz and Director Ground-Based Instrumentation Martin Flügge visited the Jungfraujoch Research station in the Swiss Alps to find a suitable location for the operational test of one of EULIAA project lidar units that currently are under development by Fraunhofer ILT, Altechnaand Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP).
A similar project lidar unit will also be tested at Andøya Space’s Alomar Observatory in northern Norway in the future.
The visit to the Jungfraujoch Research station revealed that both research observatories face quite similar challenges when it comes to the operation of sensible scientific instruments at locations that are haunted by harsh winds and freezing temperatures.
The Alomar Observatory
The observatory is located on top of the Ramnan mountain (380 meters) on the island of Andøya in northern Norway, and enables international scientists to explore all layers of the atmosphere using lidar systems or passive remote sensing instruments.
Lukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation and Andøya Space Sub-Orbital successfully launched a new, all-European research rocket.
ILR-33 AMBER 2K took off from Oksebåsen, Andøya, on July 3rd.
The rocket, named ILR-33 AMBER 2K, took off from the launch pad on July 3rd at 13:09.
– The entire operation went smoothly, says a cheerful Kolbjørn Blix, head of Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – There were no major technical challenges, and we could hardly have had better weather during the launch. I would like to extend a big thank you our team who made it look easy, and a big congratulations to our customer Lukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation (Łukasiewicz – Instytut Lotnictwa) – on a successful test.
The launch
– The task of the two small booster rockets was to provide the thrust in the first six seconds of the launch, says Blix. – After they were out of fuel, they were jettisoned and landed, as planned, inside the declared hazard area.
The rest of the rocket reached an apogee of 101 kilometers before falling back to Earth.
– It is absolutely fantastic, says Blix. – It was a small rocket, barely five meters long, about 23 cm in diameter, but it still had room for a 10-kilogram payload and was able to cross the magical 100-kilometer boundary. And the best part about the technology it uses is that it can be scaled up to make even larger rockets, in addition to using a so-called green fuel.
The front part of the rocket, which houses the payload in addition to the avionics, came down by parachute over the ocean and was recovered.
– It is impressive what our Polish colleagues have achieved in a relatively short time, concludes Blix. – They are now returning home with a lot of data from this technology test. I it is an important rocket because the technologies it uses are developed entirely in Europe. It is important for us in Europe to have access to our own independent technologies for access to space.
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
In the space industry, there is always a search for cost-reducing measures. At the same time, there is an expected increase in focus on sustainability, and for Europe, it is important to develop technologies that ensure independent access to space. With these three points in mind, the Polish Lukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation – has developed a hybrid research rocket called ILR-33 AMBER 2K, which will now be tested from Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
What is a hybrid rocket?
Research rockets have traditionally used rocket motors where the fuel and oxidizer are cast together into the engine. This provides a simpler and more reliable propulsion system with no moving parts, but the downside is that once the motor has been started, it cannot be stopped until it is completely out of propellant.
– A hybrid rocket engine combines solid fuel with a liquid oxidizer, says Kolbjørn Blix, head of Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – This allows the engine to be started and stopped, as well as throttled up or down, giving more control over the journey. We have previously tested a Norwegian hybrid rocket, but this time it is a rocket engine developed in Poland.
Lukasiewicz – Institute of Aviation (Lukasiewicz – ILOT)
The Institute of Aviation is a modern research institute with over 1,500 employees, focusing on developing important technologies for aircraft, space, and unmanned drones. Their first space flight hardware was successfully used in orbit in 1973. They have been developing green space propulsion solutions for European industry for the last 15 years. In 2023, they opened their 5th laboratory for developing and testing engines for rockets and satellites – this time it allows for steady-state vacuum firings of green rocket thrusters and propulsion systems – the only large facility in Europe dedicated to green space propulsion vacuum qualification.
ILR-33 AMBER
ILR-33 AMBER is a hybrid research rocket designed and developed entirely in Poland. The three first launches took place between 2017 and 2019, where ILR-33 AMBER reached altitudes between 10 and 23 kilometers. In 2022 its new version: the ILR-33 AMBER 2K was successfully tested during a similar low-altitude flight.
Now, ILOT is ready with the upgraded ILR-33 AMBER 2K, which will ultimately be able to lift 10 kg payloads up to an altitude of 100 kilometers. In future missions the payload will be able to experience 150 seconds of microgravity. In total, ILR-33 AMBER 2K (“Amber”) measures just under five meters.
Important rocket
– It is not a large rocket, says Blix. – But it is an important rocket because the technologies it uses are developed entirely in Europe. It is important for us in Europe to have access to our own independent technologies for access to space. The technology development being done here can, in the future, be scaled up and used in larger and more affordable rockets.
– Civilian research rockets have traditionally used rocket engines from military surplus, but hybrid rocket engines open new possibilities that traditional engines cannot provide us.
– When you start a traditional research rocket, the rocket engines burn until they are out of fuel. If it is important for an experiment that the rocket reaches exactly 100 or 150 kilometers in altitude, a traditional research rocket might fly higher – because you cannot control the burn time, says Blix.
– Hybrid rocket engines, on the other hand, give us the ability to control this more precisely so that we can better achieve the desired peak altitude (apogee). In addition, they use a greener propellant mixture, says Blix.
The launch
– Amber’s design consists of three motors. Two small ones mounted outside the larger main motor, says Blix. – The two small ones provide the thrust in the first 6 seconds of the launch. This is done to make the configuration less wind sensitive in the early phase of the flight. The two booster motors are jettisoned after six seconds.
– The two booster rockets weigh about twenty kg each when they are empty of fuel, and with declared danger areas over land it is important that the public respects these designated danger areas. All launches are best observed from a distance.
More information
Please contact Kolbjørn Blix, VP Sub-Orbital, Andøya Space
He has been working at ALOMAR almost as long as the building itself, and drives up and down the mountain to the observatory every day. Some even call him Mr. ALOMAR, meet Reidar Lyngra.
Photo: Andøya Space
It’s Monday, and Reidar Lyngra gets in the car in Oksebåsen. He is going up to the ALOMAR Observatory. The characteristic octagonal building located at the top of the mountain Ramnan in Andøya, where he works as Technical Manager for Ground-Based Instruments at Andøya Space.
Reidar has worked at ALOMAR since 1996, almost as long as the building itself. and drives up and down the mountain every day.
If you are familiar with the weather and climate on Andøya, you probably know that it is not always suitable weather for going to the mountains, but it is rare that the weather is so bad that he cannot drive up.
“There have been a few trips where we have had to walk up, but there are not many. This is mostly thanks to the ploughing that is done in winter when it can be challenging driving conditions,” says Reidar. “If the weather does not allow it, we work from the headquarter in Oksebåsen.”
Panoramic view at work
ALOMAR stands for Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research, an abbreviation that has been so widely used that it almost has become a proper name. The observatory is operated by Andøya Space and was founded through an international collaboration between Norway and Germany. Today, researchers from Norway, Germany, Spain and the United States monitor and map processes in the atmosphere from ground level up to 100 km.
Reidar is one of four who have a permanent workplace at ALOMAR. There, he makes sure that all the instruments work as they should and is responsible for, among other things, operation, some maintenance of various instruments and reporting to the institutes who owns the instruments. In addition, he is responsible for some radars and instruments that are placed in Oksebåsen, at Andenes and at Saura.
“A typical working day at the start of the week often involves checking the building and the instruments after the weekend,” says Reidar. “If there has been a lot of wind, it happens that some of the instruments needs some adjustments.”
Photo: Andøya Space
Up on the roof, Reidar checks that all the instruments are in place. On this day there is almost no wind, which is pretty unusual, and none of the instruments need adjustment.
Important information about the atmosphere
From the top roof of ALOMAR, the view is panoramic, and Reidar is one of the first to see the sun when it becomes visible again at the beginning of January. ALOMAR currently houses many different instruments, such as lidar, radars, sun photometers, brewers, GUVs, riometers, radiosonde station, ceilometers and camera systems. These instruments take measurements that provide data used for important information about the atmosphere.
They often have researchers or employees from the institutions that own the instruments visiting. Then Reidar assists with both transport up and down the mountain, and his ALOMAR expertise.
On this particular day, two employees from Group de Optica Atmosferica Universidad de Valladolid are replacing some of the instruments on the top roof of ALOMAR. These are so-called CIMEL instruments, which, among other things, measure the intensity of solar rays at different wavelengths and water vapor. Then Reidar helps where needed.
Well known light rays
“The instrument that most people probably will recognize from ALOMAR is the RMR lidar. It is the instrument that creates the two green light rays in the sky during the wintertime”, says Reidar.
If you have been to Andøya during winter and clear weather, you have probably noticed the two green light rays from the RMR lidar. The lidar is used to routinely observe the wind and temperature from 30 to 80 kilometers when the sky is clear. Wave activity and the dynamic state of the atmosphere are also studied, and these studies are very important for understanding the radiation and energy balance in the atmosphere and thus the development of the Earth’s climate.
Breathtaking office view
Reidar sits at his desk in his office, looking out over the mountains. There is probably no one who can deny that his view is breathtaking.
“Even though I see the same view every day, I don’t get tired of it,” says Reidar.
The two visitors from the University of Valladolid have now finished their day’s work session on the roof and have to go down to one of the ground stations in Andenes to install an instrument there. Reidar is getting ready to drive them down.
“One day I might have a full day at ALOMAR, and the next day it might be an instrument somewhere else that needs a check or maintenance. The days are rarely the same, but it’s just nice to have varied days”, Reidar concludes, before he gets in the car to drive back down from the mountain.
Photo: Martin Flügge
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
If you’ve visited Andøya during winter and clear skies, you might have noticed the easily recognizable green light beams, or maybe you have seen the characteristic octagonal building at the top of the mountain. This is the ALOMAR Observatory, located on the mountain Ramnan on Andøya, 379 metres above sea level. This year marks the observatory’s 30th anniversary.
ALOMAR is an abbreviation for Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research. The observatory is operated by Andøya Space and was created as an international collaboration between Norway and Germany. Today researchers from Norway, Germany, Spain and the United States monitor and map processes in the atmosphere from ground level up to 100 km.
The characteristic octagonal building, ALOMAR.
On June 16th 2024, it is 30 years since the observatory was formally opened by at that time, the German Minister of Research, Paul Krüger, and the Norwegian State Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Børre Pettersen. Since then, the data from ALOMAR have contributed in well over 500 scientific publications, and made important contributions to climate research. So how did a high-tech research observatory actually come about at the top of Ramnan, 379 meters above sea level?
The story of ALOMAR begins
The story of ALOMAR begins a few years before it was built at Ramnan. As early as 1984, the first atmospheric lidar was installed at Andøya Space, in a building close to Oksebåsen where the headquarter is located today. The measurements were mainly made as a supplement to rocket campaigns, to verify desired research conditions and weather observations in order to safely launch rockets.
The old lidar building, located in Oksebåsen.
In the years that followed, a number of interesting experiments were carried out, and the experiments showed that the lidar had great scientific potential for measurements in the atmosphere. When it was decided that the lidar observatory would be further developed, the choice of location was very important. It became natural to choose a location close to Andøya Space, in order to have access to the technical expertise and to be able to contribute to the research that was already taking place in the north. At the same time, sea spray and sand were a problem at the current location, so the new location had to be further away from the shoreline.
On the mountain Ramnan, just above Oksebåsen, the Norwegian Armed Forces and the, at that time, Norwegian Telecommunications already had a station with a road connection and power supply. The location was considered well suited for a future research observatory, and the foundation stone for the building was laid by, at that time, the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Johan Jørgen Holst in the summer of 1993. On June 16th, 1994, the building was formally opened.
The foundation stone was laid.
A slightly different construction process
ALOMAR currently measures both temperature and winds, as well as the concentration of aerosols and ozone in our atmosphere. This is to be able to monitor and map processes in the middle layers of the atmosphere.
ALOMAR was mainly built to house lidar systems, and when building a research observatory where lidar measurements are the main activity, the construction process is slightly different than when building a normal building. When ALOMAR was built, they started in the middle and worked their way outwards. The heart of ALOMAR is the telescope hall, where laser beams are emitted into the atmosphere using mirrors. The light that comes back is captured by the telescopes, and has often hit water droplets, ice crystals, aerosols and air particles on its way.
The telescope hall is the heart of the building, both because it is physically located in the center of the building, but also because it is the main room for the lidar measurements.
The telescope hall seen from above.
Lidar measurements
A lidar is an optical remote sensing technique that is based on the backscattering of light. Lidar uses light in the same way that radar uses radio waves, and the term lidar is also used for the measuring instrument itself.
When lidar measurements are made from ALOMAR, a 7×7 meter skylight opens at the rooftop to be able to release the two laser beams from the RMR lidar. RMR stands for Rayliegh-Mie-Raman, and was built by German, British and French scientists. The outer walls around the room are insulated so that heat from offices and laboratories will not seep into the hall, and the cold from outside will not cool down the rest of the building when it is open.
The lasers, computers and optical components are located in the laboratories around the telescope hall to avoid temperate fluctuations and high humidity. Laser light is sent through openings in the wall into the telescope hall, and the light that comes back from the atmosphere is sent into fiber cables that go on to the detector rooms where they process the data.
The RMR lidar can be used to routinely observe winds and temperatures from 30 to 80 kilometers when the sky is clear. This can be used to measure noctilucent clouds (NLCs), polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), and to update, correct or confirm standard atmospheres. One can also study wave activity and the dynamic state of the atmosphere. Such studies are very important for understanding the radiation and energy balance in the atmosphere and thus the development of Earth’s climate.
The lidar beams from Alomar.
Instruments at ALOMAR
Today, ALOMAR houses lidar, radars, sun photometer, brewer, GUV, riometer, radiosonde station, ceilometer and camera systems. All the instruments provide their datasets that can give important information about the atmosphere. In addition, you can combine the data from several instruments, and get even better and more comprehensive information. For example, by combining the information from the sun photometer and lidar. The sun photometer can measure the intensity of solar rays at different wavelengths, while the lidar can provide information about the height and thickness of aerosol particles. By using the information from both instruments, it is possible to say something about the distribution of particles at altitude, which can provide information about the air above Andøya.
ALOMAR is also involved in several research projects where the instruments are used, among other things, to calibrate and validate satellites that pass over Andøya, to compare measurements made by the satellites and by the instruments on the ground.
Important piece of the puzzle
Over the past 30 years, large amounts of data have been collected from ALOMAR. Climate research is more and more important, and the data from ALOMAR can be an important piece of the puzzle about the atmosphere in Arctic regions.
The celebration of the 30th anniversary is done with many future plans of measurement and projects with data from ALOMAR.
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
Andøya Space Sub-Orbital is currently building a new launch pad for sounding rockets in order to handle multiple rocket launches in the same launch campaign.
– Sounding rockets have grown in sizes in the past few years, and we needed to bolster our ability to handle not only that, but also multiple rockets in the same launch campaign, says Hans-Arne Eilertsen, project manager for the new launch pad.
Andøya Space Sub-Orbital has been hosting many campaigns involving multiple launches, not only from Andøya, but Svalbard as well.
– Such as the combined Trice-2 and Visions campaigns, two Nasa campaigns where Trice-2 launched two sounding rockets from Andøya, and then Visions launched two rockets from our launch site at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, just a few minutes later, says Eilertsen.
Launching multiple research rockets to different altitude regions of the atmosphere, allows the scientists to get simultaneous measurements, providing better insights into the physical processes in the atmosphere.
– Andøya Space Sub-Orbital really is just about the only place in the world where you can perform these massive research campaigns that focus on the highly interesting Cusp-region, says Eilertsen.
The Cusp-region refers to an area of the magnetosphere, where it creates a funnel down to Earth’s center. Andøya Space Sub-Orbital’s launch sites on Andøya and Svalbard are the only way for sounding rockets to do measurements inside that funnel.
Illustration of Earth’s magnetosphere and the cusp regions.
The new launch pad is completely made in Norway.
– The planning phase was done by Polarkonsult from Harstad, the retractable shelter has been built by Karstein Kristiansen, a local contractor, says Eilertsen. – And the steerable launch rail is being built by Oil-Tech AS in Stavanger. When complete, it will be one of the world’s most modern and capable launch pads for sounding rockets.
Photo: Oil-Tech AS.
The new launch pad is also well suited for technology testing and demonstration missions.
– Those missions aren’t necessarily all about reaching space, and might prefer to launch in lower elevations, which this new launch pad will be able to accommodate.
– The work is progressing according to plan, says Eilertsen. – We aim to be ready to host the first launch campaigns already this fall.
EASP
– We’re also building this new launch pad to fulfill our obligations in the EASP-agreement, says Kolbjørn Blix, VP of Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – It’s an agreement between five European countries, where Andøya Space is committed to providing suborbital launch capabilities.
– Two of the suborbital launch pads at Andøya are reserved for Nasa use only, which currently leaves only one pad available for European missions. Building this new launch pad will enable us to support more complex non-Nasa missions in the future, Blix finishes.
Andøya Space Sub-Orbital is a business division of Andøya Space focusing on providing a launch site and related services for suborbital research rockets. Andøya Space Sub-Orbital have two launch sites, one on Andøya and one at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The business division also offers advanced engineering services. In addition, the division operates the Alomar Observatory, and is host for several scientific ground-based instruments.
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
We in Andøya Space Sub-Orbital (ASO) are currently even further north than we normally are when we are at home on Andøya. Since Monday this week, Kolbjørn Blix, Thomas Gansmoe and Hans Arne Eilertsen have been present in Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard for meetings with Kings Bay, which manages and runs the community up here on behalf of the Norwegian Polar Institute.
We also have internal tasks as part of the visit by conducting an inspection of our infrastructure used for the launch of scientific rockets.
The meetings with Kings Bay have dealt with several topics such as the long-term contract between Andøya Space – Kings Bay, which sets guidelines for the services ASO needs for local crews and the prices of these over the next few years.
Possible benefits and opportunities for discounts are of course important topics. Furthermore, there has been a review of Prop. 47 L (2023–2024), amendments to the Svalbard Environmental Protection Act (protection of seabirds and polar bears, violation fees, clean-up, etc.) to see if and how it could affect ASO’s operations up here.
Lift-off from the MML-launcher. Photo: Brian Bonsteel, NASA
Another important part of the visit has been to visit the so-called “MML launcher” that was built as a supplement to our original launcher up here. MML became a necessity in order to implement the Grand Challenge Initiative CUSP project in the period 2018-2021, and was built as a collaboration between NASA and Andøya Space.
The shelter is of a temporary nature and has a time-limited permit from the Governor of Svalbard, which means that the work of either renovating or converting to a permanent solution must start now. Here, Kings Bay is an important co-player, advisor and case officer before the case ends up back in the Governor’s office.
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February 11th is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and we used the occasion to talk with Laura-Kristin Scholtz, a mechanical engineer who works as a project manager at Andøya Space Sub-Orbital.
Andøya Space is a company which empowers scientists in their research, by enabling them to launch research rockets, perform remote sensing and providing other types of technical support.
To do that our engineers need to employ many of the same principles as the scientists themselves: observation, experimentation and analysis to create solutions that sometimes have to function under extreme conditions. This work involves data collection, critical thinking, collaboration and a systematic approach. When we meet with Laura-Kristin, she’s busy doing just that.
Can you tell us a little bit about what you are working on right now?
– I am currently working with the development of a scientific instrument called «Holoscene», she says. – As it is under development there are always new issues coming up which need a solution. For example, I am currently designing special tools to mount and de-mount parts in the instrument, that cannot be reached otherwise. To solve some of the problems, I need to do some research first and learn about new topics, to find different possibilities and decide what to do.
What motivated you to pursue a career within engineering?
– I played a lot with Lego and specifically Lego Technic as a child, Scholtz says. – And I wanted to understand why planes fly. Also, I loved going to the technical museum in Munich called «Deutsches Museum», where I was especially impressed by the science shows, and the displays of cut-open machines, engines, or bridge parts to see the inside and how they work.
– Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s, I didn’t have the feeling, that I couldn’t choose whatever I wanted to do in my life. So, I wasn’t afraid to start studying engineering.
Laura-Kristin Scholtz and the project she’s working on, Holoscene.
Was it a popular study with other women?
– We were 10% female (of 1 400 students) when I started studying mechanical engineering. Only when I did my compulsory 8-week internship (pre-internship for studying mechanical engineering) in a small metal workshop, I sometimes got curious questions from external people. However, my colleagues always defended me and women in general working as craftsmen, saying «You don’t need to be strong or tall as a craftsman, you just need the right tools».
How can we all inspire the next generation of female engineers and encourage more women to join the field?
– To inspire the next generation of female engineers, we have to make them curious about all the engineering and science which surrounds us, Scholtz says.
– Basically, everything that surrounds us has some kind of engineering involved, this could be automated production machines for things that we use on a daily basis or ergonomics engineering for the design of everyday tools like pens or chairs or computer keyboards.
– How we should encourage them – by showing them and by letting them try and fail and try again, until they find a solution, Scholtz finishes.
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Andøya Space Sub-Orbital is currently working together with the Norwegian Mapping Authority on a project funded by the Norwegian Space Agency that aims to track objects in polar orbits. Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) is an important tool in the satellite age.
– The last decade has seen a huge increase in the number of satellites orbiting the Earth, says Martin Flügge, Director Ground-Based Instrumentation at Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. – And it is especially in the smallest segment that the increase has been greatest, so-called small satellites.
Illustration of the Norwegian satellite Norsat-1 in orbit
– Norway also have a fleet of small satellites which perform important functions for us. The challenge all satellites have is that they themselves do not know whether they are on a collision course with other satellites or space debris. Satellites orbit at speeds of over 7.8 km/s. This speed holds so much energy that satellites simply explode in a debris cloud consisting of thousands of small pieces no larger than a few centimeters when they collide with each other or with space junk, says Flügge.
– Knowing which satellites are where and at what time is therefore extremely important, and in technical terms this is divided into two areas: Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST). This particular project runs under SST.
Tracking satellites and space debris can be done in two ways, either actively or passively.
– Active tracking means that we use a radar or lidar that sends out its signals and receives echoes from things that are in orbit. Passive tracking is done using cameras that simply take pictures of the starry sky and analyse what was taken pictures of.
Andøya Space owns a very advanced radar that can be able to map objects in orbit down to a few centimeters in size.
– But the use of radars is very expensive, says Flügge. – That’s why we’re starting at the passive end, using camera systems that will initially be placed at Ny-Ålesund and Andøya.
The project is a collaboration between Andøya Space and the Norwegian Mapping Authority and has been awarded funding from the Norwegian Space Agency.
– In addition, we have a good dialogue with the German Space Agency, DLR, about this.
Satellites in polar orbits converge naturally across the polar regions before spreading outward towards the equator. Therefore, a mapping station far north will be able to see more satellites at the same time than similar stations further south.
The development process
The first part of the project is to develop methods and software for automating observations, and this is a task that is on the table of Senior Engineer Thomas Jordbru.
– When you delve into almost all types of tasks, you quickly discover that things are often more complicated than you first assume, says Jordbru. – And that is also true when it comes this project. The team at the Norwegian Mapping Authority has taken care of the heaviest analysis part of the images, where the biggest challenge is to carry out the analysis in near real time.
– Our first experience has been that images taken at low focal lengths increase analysis time and give us images with lower resolutions. We are now looking at a combination of high focal lengths (where you see a smaller part of the sky in each photo) and motorized cameras.
– Our part of the work includes creating, in collaboration with the Norwegian Mapping Authority, software that stitches the whole concept together, combined with automated camera control, says Jordbru. – Then we will test and validate everything, and the goal is that in the long term this can be further developed into a larger system for SST.
– Two observation sites lead to more accurate surveys. The completed system could, for example, be such that Ny-Ålesund takes a picture of a satellite and informs Andøya that in three minutes the same satellite will pass over Andøya. There will always be some uncertainty associated with the analyses, but by having repeated measurements/observations, this uncertainty will be significantly reduced, says Jordbru. – How this coordination will take place is also something we are looking at.
– This project is a continuation of a previous project in 2021, where we were contacted by DLR. Now we see the first concrete results, concludes Martin Flügge. – Together with the Norwegian Mapping Authority, we want to become one of the leading initiatives in this area in the long term.
More information
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Between 2018 and 2021, 12 research rockets from three countries was launched from Andøya Space in a coordinated effort to study cusp region space physics. The effort was coordinated in the Grand Challenge project Cusp. Now, the Grand Challenge continues with new projects, but what is the Grand Challenge?
‒ The idea behind Grand Challenge was actually created by myself and professor Jøran Moen from the University of Oslo, says Kolbjørn Blix, VP Sub-Orbital at Andøya Space. ‒ And the basic notion was sharing. If one research mission creates n number of research data, then five research mission should give you 5*n data. It is simple math, really.
‒ Each participant in a Grand Challenge project pays for one mission, share their research data, and in return gets access to the research data from all the other participants. Of course, the data set needs to be relevant, which is why we create these Grand Challenge projects focusing on a particular subject. By taking these independently initiated missions and coordinating them we saw a tremendous increase in scientific return, says Blix.
‒ We did the first Grand Challenge project, called project Cusp, in 2018, together with scientists from Norway, Japan and USA, says Blix. ‒ Now, the second project, called M/LT, is underway. And we’re busy planning the third, which is named Solar Max.
Project Cusp
A project that was designed to advance the common understanding of cusp region space physics through coordinated experimental and theoretical research using ground based instruments, modeling, sounding rocket investigations, and satellite based instruments.
The cusp is the part of the Earth’s magnetic field that funnels down into the polar regions. The ionosphere is the upper part of the atmosphere. Here particles from the solar wind, trapped in the cusp, cause the aurora borealis.
NASA made a video about one of the missions within the Grand Challenge Project Cusp.
Project M/LT
Participants in the M/LT project studies the mesosphere and the lower thermosphere, which are layers in the middle atmosphere, using sounding rockets, balloons and groundbased remote sensing. They are especially looking at the potential impact small processes can have on a global scale.
Project Solar Max
With the next solar maximum imminent, project Solar Max aims to do a repeat of project Cusp, which was performed around solar minimum.
Stronger together
‒ International cooperation is very important in the Grand Challenge, says Blix. ‒ Scientists from three countries participated in the first project, and then from nine countries in the second project. Grand Challenge really has been a win-win situation for all participants, not only for the sounding rocket community, but also for the balloon and remote sensing communities.
‒ Every research platform has its advantages, but there isn’t one single platform that can do everything. For example, satellites can’t easily do in-situ measurements in altitudes below 300 kilometers. It is only by combining data from satellites, research rockets, balloons, and ground based instruments that you can get a complete overview of a physical process in the atmosphere, says Blix. ‒ And that’s what we’re trying to do with the Grand Challenge Initiative.
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A German research rocket was launched from Andøya Space November 13th, 2023, to test new technologies.
SOAR is an abbreviation for “Single-stage Operational Assessment of Red Kite”, and is a project between the German space agency DLR and Bayern-Chemie GmbH which aims to develop a new solid fueled rocket motor called Red Kite.
– Traditionally, research rockets have used older, surplus military rocket motors, says Kolbjørn Blix, Vice President Sub-Orbital at Andøya Space. – Red Kite is an exciting project which may enable us to supplement with modern rocket motors in the years to come.
Red Kite use so-called solid-fuel, meaning that the fuel is not liquid, but in the form of a rubberlike compound installed inside the motor at the factory.
– Solid fueled rocket motors are ideal for research rockets, says Blix. – They almost always work and you do not need complicated infrastructure at the launch pad to fuel the rocket. The disadvantage is that the motor is always filled with fuel, and therefore needs to be treated with care. But that is something Andøya Space have 61 years of experience with.
– This launch was the first time Red Kite actually perfomed a mission. Up to now it had only performed static firings. The SOAR rocket was therefore filled to the brim with sensors in order to gain the most amount of data from the flight.
The rocket also carried secondary experiments focusing on technologies for supersonic flight, which is speeds faster that the speed of sound.
SOAR lifted-off from Andøya Space 12:30 UTC, November 13th, and reached an apogee of 72 kilometers.
– Research rockets are made to lift scientific experiments and instruments up to a given altitude in the atmosphere and do not go into orbit around Earth, says Blix. – They are tailormade for every flight and can reach all altitudes. The standing record at Andøya Space is actually 1,600 kilometers, but the main focus of SOAR was not to climb as high as possible.
– SOAR is an exciting German technology project, and Andøya Space Sub-Orbital have contributed with launch services, telemetry services and infrastructure.
To function during flight a sub-orbital rocket needs a service system in order to do science and send sensor data back to the ground. The engineering department at Andøya Space have developed a new service system that can transmit three times more data than the previous system.
The new service system is composed of four circuit boards, stacked on top of each other and mounted in an aluminum casing.
– A service system is essentially a support system for the rocket payload and the onboard instruments. It has several tasks, but it basically comes down to getting the instruments into the right position to do science and send sensor data back to the ground, says Aerospace Chief Engineer Geir Lindahl at Andøya Space.
He is one of the engineers who have worked closely with the development of the new system.
The service system is composed of four circuit boards, stacked on top of each other and mounted in an aluminum casing of approximately ten cubic decimeters, which is approximate one liter. These circuit boards handle four sub-tasks: data-encoding, data acquisition, power management, and event-handling.
Data encoding is the process of collecting data from several different sources, sorting it and translating it into a bit-stream of zeros and ones.
More than just an encoder
– This is often thought of as the main task of the service system, and therefore the system is often mistakenly said to be an encoder. It is an encoder, but it is so much more than that. The encoder is only one fourth of the system, says Lindahl.
The power management system delivers power to all systems and controls the switching between battery and ground power. The event handler is detecting lift-off and arms the onboard pyrotechnics.
During a flight the payload often separates from the motor, opens hatches, releases the nosecone and deploys a parachute. All these events are controlled by the event handler. The data acquisition system allows analog sensors to be interfaced directly to the service system.
Thomas Jordbru, Senior Electronics Engineer at Andøya Space, is demonstrating how the service system works.
Improved capabilities, three times more data
The new service system will be transmitting three times more data compared to the previous system. The data acquisition has 16 times better resolution. This allows for higher resolution and more detailed analysis on a finer scale.
– The system has also been extended to comply with more digital protocols making it easier for the customer to interface, says Lindahl.
A sounding rocket can travel up to a couple of thousand meters per second. To do fine scale measurements at this speed, a high sampling rate and high data throughput is essential.
The first launch to use the new system will be the Norwegian sounding rocket Maxidusty 2, scheduled to be launched in the summer of 2024.
A challenging project
Andøya Space has been building payloads for over two decades, and all payloads require a service system. Earlier flights used the predecessor, STAPPE 1, which was developed by the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI).
However, when FFI ended its sounding rocket research, the design wasn’t renewed. Components became obsolete and it became impossible to produce more units of the old system.
– We didn’t have much experience with designing service systems to start with, so the learning curve was steep. Luckily, we had FFI to lead the design and help us, says Lindahl.
In the middle of the project, Covid-19 happened. This had a large effect on the production of electronic components and caused a global component crisis still felt today.
– Some components were almost impossible to get hold of with lead times of up to several years. As a result, we had to redesign and change part of the original design, which increased both development time and the cost , Lindahl says.
Ready for launch
– The service system has gone through all bench tests with flying colors and is now ready to be tested and used together with the scientific instruments before launch to see how well our system performs together with other systems, says Lindahl.
He is very pleased that the new service system is now completed and ready to be used for launches at Andøya.
– It feels great that this long project is finally finished. It has been a good learning experience and we have gained a lot from FFI’s extensive knowledge. I feel like the torch has been passed to us in a good way. We own the design and have the knowledge to develop the system further ourselves. We are very happy to present the new system to our customers, Lindahl concludes.
More information
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What is the EASP agreement, and what can it do for your science?
– The Esrange and Andøya Special Project (EASP) agreement is an international agreement for launching sounding rockets and balloons from the Andøya and Esrange launch sites, along with related scientific projects, explains Kolbjørn Blix, Vice President, Andøya Space Sub-Orbital. He is the manager for the EASP agreement at Andøya Space.
Five member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) are a part of the agreement. These are France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Norway joined in the early 1990s.
The EASP agreement is directed by ESA from their headquarters in Paris, yet it is not an ESA agreement.
– The agreement has two main parts, one describing the objectives, organization and its undertakings covered by Norway and Sweden, such as infrastructure facilities, sounding rocket and stratospheric balloon activities, annual contributions to basic maintenance costs, operational fees and cost reimbursement, the programme advisory committee, the role of ESA and so on, says Blix.
The second part, or annexes, covers the support provided for the scientific projects that are included in the agreement. For example telemetry, radars, complementary instruments, assembly halls, services, accommodation, dining, and recreational facilities.
One or two EASP launches per year at Andøya
The EASP agreement includes potential launches with sounding rockets, telemetry and tracking of the rocket if needed, full crew for performing the launch itself, and use of equipment and assembly halls on site necessary to prepare the payload and sounding rocket for launch.
The German sounding rocket “STORT” was lanched from Andøya in 2022.
– We usually have one or two EASP launches every year, occasionally with two sounding rockets going up in the same rocket campaign, says Blix.
These can be sounding rockets for scientific research, such as for investigating noctilucent clouds high up in the atmosphere, or they may be technology tests or demonstrations of for example new rocket motors.
This year’s EASP launch at Andøya Space will be a technology demonstration of a new type of rocket motor developed by a German company. This test is conducted through the German space agency DLR. The demonstration is named SOAR, and will be launched in November 2023.
Sounding rockets, balloons, and related ground-based research
The EASP agreement covers launches with sounding rockets as well as with scientific balloons.
– This means that the EASP agreement also is open for scientists who wish to use stratospheric balloons for their experiments, as well as related research on the ground, says Blix. – But most of the launches from Andøya are sounding rockets.
Contributes actively with projects to the agreement
The EASP agreement is automatically renewed every five years, and the next time will be in 2025.
– We do not only participate in the agreement, we also contribute actively with scientific projects for it, says Blix.
He manages, along with scientists from Norway and USA, a large international collaboration of research of the middle and upper atmosphere called The Grand Challenge Initiative Mesosphere / Lower Thermosphere (GCI M/LT).
This collaboration allows scientists from countries outside of the EASP agreement to be a part of the ground-based or sounding rocket research covered by the agreement.
– At the Grand Challenge Initiative website, interested parties can also find a white paper describing the collaboration, with information that can be used for applications for joining the cooperation, Blix says.
Grand Challenge Initiative mission patch
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Andøya Space is strengthening the launch capacity with a new launcher in Oksebåsen, Andøya. The new launcher will be ready for launches by the end of autumn 2024.
Illustration of the new Andøya Space launcher.
Andøya Space has been launching sounding rockets for 61 years, and is now strengthening the launching capacity by building a new launcher in Oksebåsen at Andøya. With the new launcher Andøya Space will be able to launch multiple sounding rockets during a campaign.
– The sounding rockets have gotten bigger and bigger the last couple of years, and we therefore saw the need to upgrade with one more launcher to strengthen our ability to handle multiple rockets during one campaign, says Hans Arne Eilertsen, project manager for the new launcher build-up at Andøya Space.
The launcher is built as a universal launcher that can be used for all kinds of sounding rockets. It can also operate at low elevation, which makes the launches more flexible.
Ready for launches autumn 2024
Karstein Kristiansen Entreprenør is the contractor for the shelter and the launcher is delivered by Oil-Tech. Both companies were chosen after an invitation to tender.
The building phase starts in August this year, and the launcher is scheduled to be ready for launches by the end of autumn 2024.
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Two sounding rockets in the NASA VortEx project was launched from Andøya Space on March 23rd, 2023.
The VortEx project aims to understand how winds and energy from the lower atmosphere affect the upper atmosphere. In the atmosphere, energy from the lower atmosphere travels up as much as 100 kilometers. These waves of energy create turbulence, vortices and instability in the upper atmosphere, and may affect the space weather around the Earth. Knowledge of these processes is important to protect satellites and other infrastructure in orbit.
Of the four sounding rockets prepared for VortEx, the first of them was launched from Andøya on March 23rd, 2023, at 21:00:00 UTC, followed by the second rocket two minutes later.
The first sounding rocket reached an apogee of 149 kilometers, and the second reached 363 kilometers while releasing tracers to visualize turbulence and vortices in the atmosphere – creating cloud formations visible from the ground.
The tracers dispersing in the atmosphere, visualizing the turbulence and vortices.
The two sounding rockets that didn’t launch will be transferred into storage awaiting future use.
More information
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Can clouds help us improve weather forecasts and climate models? That’s what researchers from the MC2 project are trying to find out. The past month they have been conducting reasearch on mixed-phase clouds from Andøya, trying to solve one important piece of the puzzle of the role clouds play in the Earth’s climate.
Clouds are key components in the Earth’s weather and climate system, and about 60 percent of the Earth is covered by clouds. They transport heat and moisture from the warm tropical regions into the cold polar regions, and where warm air from the tropics meets cold air from the poles, you can both observe and feel the impact of clouds.
Despite this, the processes that lead to the formation of clouds are not yet fully understood. By doing more research and understanding more about clouds, we can get even more accurate weather and climate forecasts.
Mixed-phase clouds
– Clouds are one of the largest sources of uncertainty in current climate models. We are therefore trying to better understand the development of mixed-phase clouds, how they evolve, and how that affects the weather and climate, says Tim Carlsen, researcher at the Department of Geosciences at the University of Oslo.
He and his colleagues have conducted the Mixed-phase Clouds and Climate (MC2) campaign at Andøya Space, a five-week-long scientific measurement campaign that combined measurements from a research aircraft with ground-based observations.
The focus of the MC2 campaign are mixed-phase clouds, which consist of both liquid water and ice, and their role for the Earth’s climate. Their importance is undisputed, but their exact properties are still very uncertain.
– We are looking into how much of the mixed-phase clouds are water droplets and how much are ice crystals. This is important for how the clouds develop and evolve, and other factors, such as how much sunlight they reflect, says Robert Oscar David, another of the researchers from the University of Oslo in the MC2 campaign.
The MC2 project team at Andøya
Andøya – a natural laboratory for climate science
During the research flights, the researchers investigated the distribution of liquid water and ice crystals in low- to mid-level clouds. These types of clouds are common in the Arctic.
– Andøya is a really unique location because it’s at a crossroads where air from the Arctic meets air from farther south, says Carlsen.
– The type of clouds we are investigating are frequently found here at this time of year. That makes Andøya a natural laboratory for us, adds David.
Andøya Space has a long history of offering research infrastructure to universities and research institutions from all over the world.
– Our main task is to provide the infrastructure and services that makes such campaigns possible, says Laura Scholtz, project manager for the MC2 campaign at Andøya Space. – This includes facilities for performing ground-based measurements and delivering data from our own instruments at the Alomar Observatory.
Some of the flight crew for the MC2 campaign from INCAS and University of Oslo
MC2 – an international collaboration
This is the third year the researchers in the MC2 project are at Andøya.
– This time we utilize a research aircraft from the National Institute for Aerospace Research “Elie Carafoli” (INCAS) in Romania. It is a key component in the campaign that we haven’t had earlier, says Carlsen.
The aircraft will help to put the ground-based observations into a larger perspective. It carries instruments that measure the number and size of ice crystals and liquid droplets in the clouds. The pilots and operators from INCAS are part of the campaign team at Andøya, planning and coordinating the flights with the scientists.
– Two of them operate the instruments during the flight. The plane also has room for one mission scientist, says Laura-Kristin Scholtz.
– To have a mission scientist onboard is a great advantage because it allows us to record exactly what kind of clouds we’re flying through and enables us to make in-flight decisions to easier find what we are after, says David.
A piece of the climate puzzle
In addition to INCAS in Romania, researchers from the Universities of Bergen, Gothenburg and Leipzig are part of the MC2 campaign. The team from the University of Oslo is led by Professor Trude Storelvmo.
– We also have two postdoctoral researchers, three PhD students and three master’s students who are actively involved in the measurements. They are critical for the project, and will use the data in their own research, says David.
– With MC2 we hope to solve one important piece of the puzzle of the role clouds play in the Earth’s climate, says Carlsen.
Hvordan påvirker vind og energi fra den lavere atmosfære den øvre atmosfære og romvær? For å beskytte satellitter og annen infrastruktur i bane mot forstyrrelser eller ødeleggelse, er det viktig å forstå og kunne forutsi romvær.
I atmosfæren kan energi fra den lavere atmosfæren stige så mye som 100 kilometer. Disse energibølgene skaper turbulens, virvler og ustabilitet i den øvre atmosfæren, noe som kan påvirke romværet rundt jorden.
Radar, vitenskapelige raketter og optiske instrumenter
– The Vorticity Experiment (VortEx) skal bruke radar, vitenskapelige raketter og optiske instrumenter for å merke et område i mesosfæren på rundt 100 til 200 kilometer i størrelse og 80 til 140 kilometer i høyde over havet, sier Ida-Elise Øverås, Director Sounding Rockets & Engineering Services i Andøya Space.
Ved å ta prøver av og analysere dette området, prøver forskerne å forstå hvordan denne regionen i mesosfæren påvirker den øvre atmosfæren gjennom å blande prosessene som forekommer med den lavere atmosfære.
Fire vitenskapelige raketter
– Det vil bli oppskytning av fire vitenskapelige raketter fra Andøya Space for VortEx. Disse fire vitenskapelige rakettene vil fly parvis, sier Øverås.
I hvert par vil en av rakettene inneholde 16 individuelle målinger for vind, mens den andre vil utføre en kontinuerlig måling av vind og temperatur.
– En av de vitenskapelige rakettene vil også slippe ut trimetylaluminum for å visualisere turbulens og virvler i luften. Dette vil filmes fra tre ulike steder, her på Andøya, i Alta og i nærheten av Bodø. I tillegg vil det filmes av vårt forskningsfly, sier Øverås.
De vitenskapelige rakettene har planlagt oppskytning mellom 17. og 26. mars.
Principal Investigator for VortEx er Dr. Gerald Lehmacher fra Clemson University i Sør-Carolina, USA. VortEx er en del av Grand Challenge Initiative Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere.
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How do winds and energy from the lower atmosphere affect the upper atmosphere and space weather? Understanding and forecasting space weather is important to protect satellites and other infrastructure in orbit, whose functions may be disturbed or disrupted by space weather.
In the atmosphere, energy from the lower atmosphere travels up as much as 100 kilometers. These waves of energy create turbulence, vortices and instability in the upper atmosphere, and may affect the space weather around the Earth.
Radar, sounding rockets and optical instruments
– The Vorticity Experiment (VortEx) will use radar, sounding rockets and optical instruments to map an area in the mesosphere of about 100 by 200 kilometers in size, from 80 to 140 kilometers altitude, says Ida-Elise Øverås, Director Sounding Rockets & Engineering Services at Andøya Space.
By sampling and analyzing this area, the researchers seeks to understand how this region in the mesosphere affects the upper atmosphere through mixing processes with the lower atmosphere.
Four sounding rockets
– Four sounding rockets will be launched from Andøya Space for VortEx. These four sounding rockets will take off in pairs, says Øverås.
In each pair, one rocket will contain 16 individual measurements of wind, while the other will perform a continuous measurement of wind and temperature.
– One of the sounding rockets in each pair will also release trimethylaluminum to visualize turbulence and vortices in the air. This will be filmed from three different sites, here at Andøya, in Alta and near Bodø, and by our research plane, says Øverås.
The sounding rockets in VortEx have a launch window from the 17th of March to the 26th of March 2023.
Principal Investigator for VortEx is Dr. Gerald Lehmacher at Clemson University in South Carolina in the US. VortEx is part of the Grand Challenge Initiative Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere.
More information
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Before a satellite is ready for launch it is thoroughly tested to make sure it can withstand both the rocket’s intense shaking and vibrations during launch, as well as the harsh environment of space.
The first satellites to be launched from Andøya Spaceport will be several CubeSats from five institutions in Germany, Slovenia and Norway. These nanosatellites, measuring only 10 x 10 x 10 centimeters and weighing less than two kilos each, will be launched from Andøya Spaceport by Isar Aerospace’s rocket “Spectrum”.
One of these CubeSats is FramSat-1, built by members of the student organization Orbit NTNU at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).
FramSat-1 will test an experimental sun sensor developed for satellites and sounding rockets. Such sensors measure the sun’s position relative to the satellite, to determine the satellite’s attitude in space
The sun sensor on FramSat-1 has been delivered by the Norwegian space company Eidsvoll Electronics (EIDEL). Other organizations which contribute to the FramSat-1 mission are Andøya Space Sub-Orbital, Andøya Space Education, Institute for electronic systems at NTNU, the Norwegian Space Agency, Kongsberg Group and Inission.
An important milestone
Like all satellites and spacecraft, the student CubeSats must pass several tests demonstrating that they can withstand the intense shaking and vibrations during launch as well as the harsh environment of space.
Andøya Space is the facility for FramSat-1’s shake test.
– This is an important milestone in the development of all satellites, says Mathias Askeland, project manager for FramSat in Orbit NTNU.
FramSat-1 was taken through vibration tests at several different frequencies to check that the results are within the specifications from Isar Aerospace. The resonance frequency of the satellite will also be detected.
– In addition, we will test functionality at every axis to ensure that all subsystems onboard still work as intended, says Askeland.
Making connections with the space industry
– Everyone working on FramSat-1 have made a maximum effort these last months. We are very relieved that the satellite is ready and that we have solved all the challenges which arose during development, Askeland says.
After the shake test at Andøya, the three students participating in the test will bring FramSat-1 with them back to Trondheim.
The students at Orbit NTNU are developing another satellite identical to FramSat-1, to be launched later.
– It’s been a pleasure to work with our FramSat-1 partners and develop strong connections with the Norwegian and international space industry, Askeland says.
Environmental testing at Andøya Space
Andøya Space has developed an environmental testing facility for qualifying sounding rocket payloads.
– Here we have equipment for performing spin-balancing, spin-deploy, bend-down and vacuum testing, in addition to the vibration table used for testing Framsat-1, says Geir Lindahl, Chief Engineer at Andøya Space Sub-Orbital.
– With the rapid growth of the satellite market and the construction of our new launch base, we also intend to adapt our test facilities to be able to support more satellite customers, says Lindahl.
Space Education 2.0
Framsat-1 is a pilot project in Space Education 2.0, an initiative which aims to use the new educational possibilities which have opened due to the creation of Andøya Spaceport.
– We aim to increase the utilization of the infrastructure here at Andøya Space for both Norwegian and international universities, says Jøran Grande, project manager at Andøya Space Education.
This infrastructure includes the new launch facilities for small satellites, as well as the launch base for sounding rockets, Alomar – a laboratory for atmospheric science at Andøya Space.
Mer informasjon
Kontakt Andøya Space Sub-Orbital for ytterligere informasjon og spørsmål.
Two American research rockets from NASA were launched from Andøya Space on November 20th, 2022.
Lift-off from Oksebåsen, November 20th. Photo: Andøya Space.
The ACES II mission was the first “NASA ship-and-shoot mission” from Andøya, where the payloads and ground support equipment were shipped via aircraft to Andøya Airport.
ACES II was a follow-up mission from ACES, which launched from a site in Alaska in 2009. ACES is an abbreviation for Aurora Current and Electrodynamics Structures.
The mission consisted of a total of two sounding rocket flights (36.359 and 36.364) launched from Andøya Space November 20th 2022 at 18:20 and 18:21.
This experiment was launched on two Black Brant IX launch vehicles. The payloads utilized a suite of in-flight instruments to take in-situ measurements of a stable auroral arc.
The payloads were launched with 120 seconds between the two launches, to achieve magnetic conjunction. The experiment required an Attitude Control System (ACS) on each payload.
Mission information
Project Manager: Daniel Bowden, NASA/Wallops
Principal Investgator: Dr. Scott Bounds, University of Iowa
Vehicles: 36.359 (Bounds High Flyer) and 36.364 (Bounds Low Flyer)
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
To amerikanske forskningsraketter i prosjektet ACES II er nå klar til oppskytning fra Andøya. Med to minutters mellomrom.
ACES II er en oppfølger fra ACES som ble skutt opp fra en oppskytningsbase i Alaska i 2009. ACES er en forkortelse for Aurora Current and Electrodynamics Structures
Skal forske på nordlys
De to forskningsrakettene skal utføre målinger samtidig inne i et nordlysutbrudd, men i forskjellige høydeområder.
– Den ene forskningsraketten skal opp til 410 kilometers høyde, sier Kolbjørn Blix, sjef for forskningsrakettvirksomheten ved Andøya Space. – Og den andre får en topphøyde på vel 160 kilometer.
– Begge rakettene er totrinnsraketter, det vil si at de har to rakettmotorer hver, sier Kolbjørn. – Oppskytningene er planlagt slik at begge rakettene når hver sin makshøyde samtidig, selv om den ene starter to minutter før den andre. Dette gjøres for å kunne se hvordan elektriske strukturer og strømninger inne i nordlyset utvikler seg i forskjellige høyder.
Romvær
– Helt siden den norske forskeren Kristian Birkeland på slutten av 1800-tallet oppdaget at nordlyset er forbundet med sola har man skjønt at nordlysforskning egentlig er en forskning som sier noe om hvordan sola påvirker jorda, sier Kolbjørn. – Solens påvirkning på jorden kalles ofte for romvær, og det å kunne forutsi romværet er veldig viktig for det moderne samfunnet vi lever i nå.
– Skikkelig kraftig romvær påvirker ikke bare satellitter i bane, men også GPS, kommunikasjonssignaler, strømnett og kompass, sier Kolbjørn. – ACES II bidrar til grunnforskning som også kan hjelpe oss med å forstå jordens atmosfære.
– Forskeren bak ACES II er Dr. Bounds fra University of Iowa, sier Kolbjørn. – Oppskytningene vil skje en gang fra og med 16. til 30. november mellom klokken 18 og 22, når forskerteamet har lokalisert optimale forhold for forskningsrakettene.
Mer informasjon
Kontakt Andøya Space Sub-Orbital for ytterligere informasjon og spørsmål.
Two American research rockets are now ready for launch from Andøya. The sub-orbital rockets will launch within two minutes of each other.
ACES II is a follow-up mission from ACES, which launched from a site in Alaska in 2009. ACES is an abbreviation of Aurora Current and Electrodynamics Structures.
Northern lights research
The two rockets will perform simultaneous measurements inside a northern lights arc, but at different altitudes.
– One rocket will travel up to 410 kilometers altitude, says Kolbjørn Blix, VP Science & Technology at Andøya Space. – And the other will reach an altitude of 160 kilometers.
– Both vehicles are two-stage vehicles, meaning they carry two rocket motors each, says Kolbjørn. – The launches are planned so that both vehicles will reach apogee at the same time, even if one of them starts two minutes before the other. This is done to be able to observe how electrical currents and structures inside the aurora behave in different heights.
Space weather
– Northern lights research really is research into how the sun affects the Earth, which has been known since late 1800s when the Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland connected the dots, says Kolbjørn. – This solar influence on Earth is referred to as space weather, and being able to predict space weather is very important for the modern society we all live in.
– Powerful space weather affect not just satellites in orbit, but also GPS, communications, power grids and compasses, says Kolbjørn. – ACES II will contribute to basic research which will also help us understand Earth’s atmosphere better.
– The principal investigator behind ACES II is Dr. Bounds from the University of Iowa, says Kolbjørn. – The launches will take place some time from the 16th to the 30th of November, 1800-2200 local time, when the science team have identified the optimal science conditions the rockets need.
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
At June 26th, 04:19 local time, the German sounding rocket “STORT” successfully soared into the sunny summer night above Andenes.
The acronym STORT stands for “Schlüsseltechnologien für hochenergetische Rückkehrflüge der Trägerstufen”, which translates to “Key technologies for high-energetic return flights of reusable launcher stages”.
For the design and certification of spacecraft components, numerical and experimental methods for multidisciplinary applications must be developed and validated. Therefore, the comparison of numerical and experimental data with flight data is indispensable. In the STORT project, all three tools mentioned are used for the development and qualification of key technologies for high-energy return flights of reusable launcher stages.
LIft-off from Oksebåsen, June 26th, 04:19. Photo: Andøya Space
Numerical, experimental and flight data
Numerical design methods still have great shortcomings in estimating the integral heat loads and temperature spikes on key components of a spacecraft. Ground-based experiments can only simulate flight segments with partially inaccurate flight conditions.
In the high-speed flight sector, aero-thermodynamic processes, such as thermal and chemical interactions between the vehicle surface and high enthalpy flow play an important role in spacecraft design. Since previous flight experiments did not allow such conditions, a flight experiment for a velocity of Mach 8 is performed on a suppressed trajectory.
The preparation of the flight experiment will be accompanied by dedicated ground-based experiments with modern diagnostics. The experimental data are analyzed with advanced and efficient evaluation algorithms. Both the flight data and the ground experiments are used to improve the numerical methods.
The main goals of the project
System analysis of high-energy flights of reusable stages of launchers
Aerothermal and mechanical prediction of highly loaded structures with existing tools
Development of reusable structures with high reliability
Use of modern diagnostics to characterize the test objects and test environments
Qualification tests in ground-based facilities on high-temperature structures and materials
Development and testing of ground demonstrators
Execution of a flight experiment for flight testing of high-temperature components
Development of a three-stage launch vehicle delivering Mach 8 at 50 km max altitude
Multidisciplinary post-flight analysis
Within the scope of STORT, a project within the German Aerospace Center (DLR), several technology and hardware developments culminated in this flight experiment using a newly developed three-stage sounding rocket motor. The vehicle flew on a suppressed trajectory with an apogee of 38 km and velocities exceeding Mach 8 to provide high-enthalpy experimental conditions for hypersonic aero-thermal research.
The initial data analysis by DLR confirms a successful flight; the detailed analysis of scientific data is already underway. DLR also expresses their gratitude to Andøya Space for the support during the STORT campaign.
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
The NASA suborbital research rocket Endurance lifted off from the Andøya Space launch site at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, on Wednesday May 11th, 2022.
Photo: Brian Bonsteel, NASA
The primary mission for Endurance was to investigate and measure Earth’s electrical field in order to establish to what extent the ionosphere leaks water into space. It is already known by the science community that the ionospheres on Mars and Venus do this as well.
Lift-off occurred at 03:31, local time. The principal investigator on Endurance, Glyn Collinson at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Catholic University of America, was very pleased with the initial results. The data returned from the mission will be analyzed further in months and years ahead.
During its flight the Endurance reached an apogee of 767 kilometers altitude.
A suborbital scientific research rocket named GHOST will carry student experiments from nine countries and is set to launch from Andøya Space no earlier than 2024.
University and college students in Norway, Canada, France, Japan, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, or USA are invited to join the GHOST rocket project with their experiments.
GHOST is short for Grand Challenge Mesosphere Student Rocket and is a large research rocket for students to be launched from Andøya Space no earlier than 2024. The rocket is a part of the international project Grand Challenge Initiative Project Mesosphere / Lower Thermosphere (GCI M/LT) which studies the mesosphere (95 – 120 kilometers from the ground) and the lower part of the thermosphere (about 120 kilometers from the ground).
– This project will use experiments lifted onboard several sounding rockets, balloons, and aircraft at the same time all over the globe because this way we get more data from the experiments than if they were to be conducted in isolation, says Kolbjørn Blix, Director of sounding rockets and Andøya Space. He’s leading the project together with scientists such as Douglas Rowland at NASA.
Hands-on experience and useful contacts
Scientists from NASA, the European space agency ESA, the Japanese space agency JAXA as well as Canada, Poland and UK are participating in GCI M/LT.
– Our wish is that students from all those countries, including Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, France, and Germany participates on the GHOST mission, says Kolbjørn.
GHOST will be built in USA by NASA and is scheduled to be launched from Andøya Space during the same launch campaign as another NASA research rocket.
– This way the students will experience a professional launch campaign close-up. But first they need to design and build the experiments the GHOST rocket will carry, document them, test them, integrate them, and comply with all the deadlines and requirements that are common in a rocket project, says Kolbjørn.
– The students will connect with each other and the scientists, which will give them not only a useful experience, but also a network they can use to advance their careers in the space business, say Kolbjørn.
G-CHASER lifts-off from Andøya.
Experience from an earlier student rocket
GHOST is built on the concept of an earlier student rocket named G-CHASER, which carried with it experiments built by a hundred students from Norway, Japan, and USA.
– G-CHASER was a large two-stage research rocket built by NASA as a part of the Grand Challenge Initiative Project Cusp, says Kolbjørn.
The students built and tested their instruments at home, and about half of them joined the final integration and testing at NASA in 2018, and then during the launch campaign at Andøya Space in 2019.
Logo and song
The success of G-CHASER and the Grand Challenge Initiative Project Cusp demonstrated for all that a large student rocket and a large research project was possible and even produced good results.
– We found the perfect logo for the GHOST mission, says Kolbjørn. – A logo with a rocket resembling a ghost, and the owner, Ghost Rocket Music in USA, have given us their permission to use it. They will even try to create a song to promote the project.
Grand Challenge
More information about Grand Challenge can be found on the website www.grandchallenge.no
Want to join?
Information about how to join the GHOST mission will be made public later this year.
The GHOST mission patch
More information
For more information, please contact Andøya Space Sub-Orbital
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