A Swedish rocket veered off its planned course and landed in Norway on Monday, local media reported.
The nine-meter-long rocket was launched from the Esrange Space Center, about 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle.
Dagens Nyheter (DN) reported that it landed 40 kilometers northwest of the planned landing site after reaching an altitude of 250 kilometers, where gravity experiments were conducted.
The Esrange Space Center launched an investigation into the incident and began work to retrieve the payload from the landing site approximately 15 kilometers over the border with Norway, DN reported.
– We have not received any notification about the incident from Esrange or the Swedish authorities, but we have registered that Esrange has sent out a press release that a rocket has landed in Norway, says a spokesperson for the Norwegian Aviation Authority to the Norwegian newspaper Folkebladet.
“In general, we take a serious view of unauthorized activity on the Norwegian side of the border and it is crucial that involved parties immediately notify the relevant Norwegian authorities,” the spokesperson said.
Activities at Esrange will intensify and include orbital launches following the inauguration of the Esrange spaceport in January.
