After a malfunction, a Swedish research rocket has landed in Norwegian territory, causing a bit of a stir.
The rocket was launched from the Esrange Space Center at 07:20 local time on Monday 24th April, and eventually plummeted into the far northern area of Malselv, a Norwegian mountain range roughly 10km from the closest inhabited area.
The Swedish Space Corporation has apologised for the error, although Sweden failed to let the country know formally.
Ragnhild Simenstad, a foreign ministry spokeswoman of Norway, explained, “The ministry did not get formal notification, and when an incident like this happens across the border it’s important that those responsible immediately inform the Norwegian authorities through proper channels.”
Luckily, no one was reported injured.
The rocket reached an altitude of 250km and carried out out experiments in microgravity into potential carbon-free fuels.
Photo: Swedish Space Corporation