Issues to consider in the space tourism era - how Spaceport Sweden plans for suborbital flights

Paper number

IAC-08.D5.1.3

Author

Dr. Olle Norberg, Swedish Space Corporation, Sweden

Coauthor

Mr. Sven Grahn, Swedish Space Corporation, Sweden

Year

2008

Abstract

In Kiruna in northern Sweden most facilities for suborbital personal spaceflight are already at hand. The Esrange Space Centre with all its infrastructure and support facilities, restricted air and space volumes, a suitable airport with ample hangar space and a local tourist industry to take care of accompanying persons and the private space explorers’ all recreational needs. Esrange has been an active range for suborbital rocket launches since 1966 with more than 500 rockets have been launched. Thus, the Swedish Space Corporation, (who operates Esrange), Kiruna Airport, the IceHotel, and the local business development company Progressum have joined forces to develop their joint facilities into Spaceport Sweden. 
In January 2007 Spaceport Sweden signed an agreement with Virgin Galactic to perform an assessment study on performing flights of SpaceShipTwo in Kiruna. This study, covering everything from operational to legal aspects, is now coming to an end. It has shown that there are no major obstacles to overcome before commercial suborbital flights with either winged or vertical launch vehicles can commence. The required infrastructure already exists, and Spaceport Sweden is indeed open for business for any personal spaceflight operator, either for permanent or temporary operations.

Despite this entire available infrastructure and the long experience in suborbital unmanned launches there are many detailed issues to consider before the first personal spaceflight occurs, hopefully within five years. These issues include the modalities of operating a winged space vehicle from a civilian commercial airport; Also important to address is the relationship between personal spaceflight and Sweden's space law. How do suborbital vehicles for personal spaceflight compare with sounding rockets in terms of trajectory, range safety and a permit to fly? A peculiarity of Sweden's space law is that it does not cover suborbital “sounding” rockets, which are handled by a legal regime pre-dating the UN Outer Space Treaty and the Liability Convention. Can suborbital vehicles for personal space flight be handled in the same way as suborbital unmanned rockets? In Sweden the space law protects "third parties" but the space flight participants are unaccounted for. 

These are as yet unsettled issues as well as the matter of obtaining a license or permit to fly a winged space vehicle inside and outside controlled airspace. The legal framework for aviation in Europe has not yet specifically addressed personal spaceflight, and interim solutions may have to be found in preparation for a more comprehensive legal regime.

Abstract document

IAC-08.D5.1.3.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-08.D5.1.3.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

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