EU opens first mainland satellite

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson inaugurated the European Union’s first mainland orbital launch complex on Friday. Spaceport Esrange, the new facility at Esrange Space Center near the northern Swedish city of Kiruna should complement the EU’s current launching capabilities in French Guiana in South America. “Europe has its foothold in space and will keep it,” von der Leyen said. She added that small satellites were crucial to tracking natural disasters in real-time and, in the light of Russia’s war in Ukraine, to help guarantee global security.

Credit DW News