In August 2020, the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna was hit by a major fire. The accident occurred during a scheduled test firing of rocket engines, which is carried out regularly at the space center. A test rocket that was more powerful than expected broke free from its launch pad upon ignition and traveled 200 meters. The runaway rocket caused extensive property damage, as two of six buildings burned to the ground and several others were damaged. Fortunately, no one was injured.
Immediately after the fire, an internal project was launched to restore the facility’s sounding rocket launch capability. In autumn 2021, Keep the company received an enquiry about installing Keep®safe system in the facility’s fire compartment boundaries. In February, new units incorporating our system were delivered to protect personnel against future explosions.
Esrange Space Center is owned by Swedish Space Corporation and is Sweden’s only space centre. Located 45 km east of Kiruna, it has been operating since 1966, when its first rocket was launched. Stratospheric balloon activities were introduced later. Today, Esrange provides satellite communication services and supports space, atmospheric and microgravity research in collaboration with researchers around the world.
We are very proud to contribute to safety in the space industry.
Photo:: Lars Poromaa
