Norway and Sweden in rare public row over rocket crash

Norway has expressed displeasure at Nordic neighbour Sweden after a research rocket crashed into its territory.

The rocket, launched on Monday from Esrange Space Centre in the north of Sweden, plunged into a mountainside in Malselv district in Norway’s far north, about 10km from the closest inhabited area.

The fallout is a rare public diplomatic dispute between two allies, and there seemed to be disagreement about recovering the wreckage.

Retrieval work was not supposed to begin without Norwegian authorisation, which has not been granted, Norway’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. But bosses at the Swedish Space Corporation said on Monday they were already working on recovering the crashed rocket.

“The crash of a rocket like this is a very serious incident that can cause serious damage,” the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said.

“When such a border violation occurs, it is crucial that those responsible immediately inform the relevant Norwegian authorities through the proper channels.” No one was injured and no material damage was reported. The rocket was carrying out experiments in zero gravity at an altitude of 250km.

Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority said it had learnt of the crash only when the Swedish Space Corporation issued a press release on Monday.

“Norwegian authorities take any unauthorised activity on the Norwegian side of the border very seriously,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry had not received a formal notification of the incident from Sweden.

Philip Ohlsson, head of communications at SSC, said the agency was working on retrieving the crashed rocket.

“It landed in the mountains at 1,000 metres altitude, and 10km from the closest settlement,” he said. When things go wrong, “we inform both the Swedish and Norwegian governments, and other actors”, he added.

“The rocket took a slightly longer and more westerly trajectory than calculated and landed after a completed flight 15km into Norway,” the SSC said.