Swedish Space Corporation joins hands with NASA & CNES to launch stratospheric balloons

Balloons to launch in Sweden

Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), a global provider of advanced space services, has partnered with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) to launch eight stratospheric balloons from Esrange Space Centre this summer.

The Esrange Space Centre, nestled in the northern reaches of Sweden, is witnessing an unprecedented flurry of activity this summer as the the Swedish Space Corporation undertakes a series of stratospheric balloon launches in collaboration with NASA and CNES.

In a press statement, SSC says that eight stratospheric balloons will be launched, of which five are transatlantic, two are stationary and one is a student balloon.

It adds that the largest balloon measures three times the size of the Globe (Avicii Arena) in Stockholm and will fly high above the Atlantic, landing safely in Canada.

SSC says that the larger transatlantic balloons will fly from Sweden and land in Canada after up to a week in the air.

“SSC is proud to offer this top-of-the-line service for launching stratospheric balloons from the Esrange. Years of strategic collaboration with, among others, renowned partners such as NASA and CNES, grants us with vast experience and expertise, and puts SSC at the very top of international ballooning. Never before has this many balloons been launched in such a short time frame. And never have they been this large,” says Charlotta Sund, CEO, SSC.

“Every launch we do is unique and exciting, and we are thrilled to have our first successful launch for the season now that the wind patterns are aligned to meet our mission needs. This long-duration capability is crucial to our science missions, as they gather a great amount of data over the course of one flight,” says Andrew Hamilton, Acting Director of NASA’s Balloon Programme Office.

“For several decades, CNES has been carrying out many stratospheric balloon flights from the Esrange base for French and European laboratories. The coming campaign includes our first transatlantic flight between Sweden and north Canada. After 2 years of technical work, we are now ready for this new challenge,” says Stéphane Louvel, Balloon campaign manager at CNES.