Norway proposes funding second launch pad at Andøya Spaceport
Andøya Space
Norway plans to invest almost €60 million to build and own a second orbital launch pad at Andøya Spaceport, leasing it to Andøya Space.
updates
- 2026-10-13European Spaceflight reports the 2027 funding's ministry-by-ministry breakdown and a 2028 completion target for the pad.
what happened
Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth announced the planned NOK 650 million investment during a September 30 event hosted by Norway's Directorate for Space Activities, per European Spaceflight. Norwegian Space Agency Director General Christian Hauglie-Hanssen said the government will allocate an initial NOK 323.3 million in its 2027 budget proposal, with the remainder included in the 2028 budget; construction responsibility will go to Forsvarsbygg, the Norwegian Defence Estates Agency, and the finished pad will be leased to Andøya Space, in which the state holds a 90% stake. European Spaceflight reported October 13 that the 2027 allocation splits into NOK 223.5 million from the Ministry of Defence and NOK 99.5 million from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, partly funded by reallocating NOK 73 million in unspent equity funding and NOK 26.5 million from an outstanding regional development grant; the total project cost is now put at NOK 646 million, with Norway targeting 2028 for the pad's completion.
why it matters
The plan is a shift from Andøya's original model, where a second pad's construction depended on Andøya Space landing a second launch customer; the state will now bear the cost and keep ownership instead. Andøya's existing pad is reserved for Isar Aerospace under a long-term agreement, so a state-funded second pad would let the spaceport host an additional launch provider without displacing Isar.
signal-to-noise
quick facts
- Companies
- Andøya Space
- Category
- launch
- Impact
- notable
- SNR
- 4 / 5
- Event date
- 2026-09-30
- Published
- 2026-10-01 17:32 UTC