A Sweden Space Corp (SSC) research rocket that was launched early on Monday from the northern Sweden’s Esrange Space Centre failed and came down 15 km (9.32 miles) inside of the neighboring Norway.
The rocket ascended to a height of 250 kilometres (155.34 miles), where experiments were conducted in zero gravity, according to a statement from the agency.
According to Philip Ohlsson, head of communications at SSC, “it landed in the mountains at 1,000 metres altitude, and 10 kilometres from the closest settlement,” he told British nwes agency Reuters on Tuesday.
He explained that there are procedures in place for notifying the governments of Sweden and Norway, as well as other parties, when something goes wrong. The payload recovery effort is under progress, and a technical study to ascertain the specifics of the unexpected flight route has been started.
A representative for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said via email that “the Norwegian authorities take any unauthorised activity on the Norwegian side of the border very seriously.”
The spokeswoman advised that in the event of any border violations, individuals in charge should promptly notify the appropriate Norwegian authorities, which included the foreign ministry, through the proper channels.
She said that the Swedish authorities had not formally notified the ministry regarding the occurrence. The representative added that prior approval was also required for any salvage operations on Norwegian soil.
The SSC spokesperson said the rocket fell down far from any settlement, however the Norwegian foreign ministry claimed it was unaware of any environmental harm.