Firefly Aerospace hit another milestone in its quest to reach orbit from Europe.
Last June, Firefly and the Swedish Space Corporation signed an agreement to establish launch operations at Sweden’s Esrange Space Centre near Kiruna, but a recent agreement between the US and Swedish governments have made the collaboration a reality.
Terms and services: The US-Sweden Technology Safeguards Agreement (TSA) provides the legal foundation to support Firefly’s launch plans, while also signaling America’s willingness to work around stringent ITAR regulations and foster deeper collaborations with allied nations.
- The TSA enables US and Swedish companies to co-develop space technologies and services, from satellites to launch vehicles.
- It designates Sweden’s northern launch complex as the first European launch site for US rocket companies, and provides a framework for other allies to adopt similar agreements.
- The agreement also requires Sweden to implement robust physical and cyber security measures to protect US launch IP.
While Europe tries to speed up the development of its homegrown launch capabilities through efforts such as the European Launcher Challenge, which will award as much as €169M ($197.6M) to winning commercial launchers, the TSA enables Sweden to import—not build—its way to orbit.
Additionally, as a new member of NATO—Sweden joined the bloc in March 2024—the agreement places US and Swedish defense initiatives in lockstep. The TSA also increases access to SSO and polar orbits at a time when the Arctic is seeing heavier commercial and military traffic.
Manifesting: Firefly and Esrange are already making headway in developing infrastructure to support launches of the company’s Alpha rocket. Tracking and control systems, security, and depot facilities, as well as the launch control center, have already been completed— and the company is planning to launch from Sweden as early as 2026.
