The Space Campus – the heart of Sweden’s space center

Swedish space education has been built around Sweden’s space industry. In cooperation with several universities, the Swedish Institute for Space Physics (IRF) established the Space Campus, which also hosts Luleå University of Technology's Department of Space Science (IRV). Situated 150 km north of the Arctic Circle, it is an ideal spot to study the aurora borealis and other atmospheric phenomena.

“If you are doing space engineering, Kiruna is the place to be,” says Dr. Rick McGregor, the IRF’s information officer.

“The institute has grown up here and the educational things have grown up around the institute. By being here, students and teachers have direct contact with our researchers and engineers and many of them are lecturers on the courses.”

Dr. Martin Bohm, manager for the Space Engineering program at the IRV, says the close relationship between the IRF and IRV allows students to gain hands-on experience through access to laboratories, an astronomical observatory and space simulators.


Rick McGregor (left) and Martin Bohm (right) describe the many courses on offer at the Space Campus in Kiruna. Photo: Alexander Mitelman

“The simulators can recreate the thermal conditions out in space,” McGregor says. “It’s very hot when the sun is shining and very cold when there is an eclipse. Students can see if their nanosatellite would have survived if it had really been sent out into space.”

Thomas Ott, a German student studying in the Space Master program, describes life at the Space Campus. “You enter a world of space and collaborate with people who are very passionate about this subject,” he says. “It’s a very intense environment.”

Esrange – balloons, rockets and space

A unique aspect of educational life at the Space Campus is its cooperation with Esrange, the launch site of the Swedish Space Corporation.  Two programs, Balloon Experiments for University Students and Rocket Experiments for University Students (known as BEXUS and REXUS, respectively), allow students to launch their projects with rockets and stratospheric balloons.


Jörgen Hedin, BEXUS student project manager, shows a camera attached to the payload of balloon ready for launch. Photo: Alexander Mitelman

“From the student’s perspective, to have these guys up here in one of the leading centers in the world, and that we can come here and take part in it, is quite cool,” says Jörgen Hedin, student project manager at Esrange. Hedin is currently completing his bachelor’s degree at the IRV.


The BEXUS 5 stratospheric balloon launch on 28 March 2007 took student experiments to new heights. Photo: Swedish Space Corporation, Esrange

Ola Widell, BEXUS project manager at Esrange, says: “It’s very important for us to put money towards allowing students to work on space applications. The Swedish state, through Rymdstyrelsen (Swedish National Space Board), is putting a lot of money into this for a five-year program, with two balloons and two rocket launches a year. This is the future – to connect education and space science.”

Esrange have sent up everything from marshmallows to cameras in the balloons and rockets. “In the rockets there are tobacco plants, chicken eyes, whatever – because the idea is to test biological reactions under microgravity conditions,” Widell says.


Image taken from 25km above Rovaniemi, Finland with a camera attached to the BEXUS balloon launched from Esrange on 28 March 2007. Photo: Jörgen Hedin and Michael Erneland

Space education as a career launch

Graduates of the Space Campus are well placed for life after the university. Many of them continue with research or work as engineers in Sweden or at sites around the world. “Quite a few people that have come through the engineering program here have ended up at Esrange and in the electronics industry throughout Sweden,” McGregor says.

Although the focus is on space, the education at the Space Campus is broad enough to allow students to work in other fields. Dr. Victoria Barabash, a lecturer at the IRV, says: “It’s space application, but they learn the basics in electronics and engineering, which can be used in other areas.”

Ott thinks the international aspect of his program means he will be well prepared to find a job. “It opens up a lot of possibilities,” he says. “If you are an engineer and you have these intercultural skills, it’s a big bonus.”

International space science programs

The Space Campus offers three different masters level programs. Through Luleå University of Technology, students can participate in a one-year masters program in space engineering with a physics or engineering track. Another option is a two-year MSc in space engineering where students spend the first year in Luleå and the second year in Kiruna.

Kiruna also offers a Joint European Master in Space Science and Technology, known as the SpaceMaster, in conjunction with five other European universities: Cranfield University, UK;  Czech Technical University, Czech Republic;  Helsinki University of Technology, Finland;  Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg, Germany; and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, France.

Students enrolled in the two-year program spend the first semester at Würzburg in Germany and the second semester in Kiruna. During the third semester, students choose the campus that offers courses in their specialization. During the final semester, they complete thesis projects related to their majors. In 2006-2007, 41 students from 25 countries participated in the program.

Kiruna will also launch a bachelor’s program in space science later this year. “We decided to start another international program with more practical and hands-on education,” says Bohm. “We will have more education around the balloon experiments and rocket launches.”


Khurram Gulzar from Pakistan enjoys three axes of rotational freedom in the SpaceBall. Photo: Alexander Mitelman

If moving above the Arctic Circle for a two- or three-year degree program sounds too extreme, the Space Campus also offers short winter and summer courses. “They give students who do not normally study space topics a chance to broaden their own education and to get a taste of the courses on offer in Kiruna,” says Dr. Carol Norberg, a lecturer in space physics.

The theme of the course being offered this August (6-24) is “Human Spaceflight and Exploration.” The first two weeks will be held at Umeå University and the third week will be in Kiruna. There is no fee for the courses, but students must cover their own travel and living expenses.

In 2006, students were able to participate in a two-hour video conference with Christer Fuglesang. “He was located at NASA Houston at the time and preparing for his space mission,” says Norberg. “Students were able to ask him about his training, his expectations for his upcoming trip and even about whether he would like to go on a longer mission to Mars.”

Links

Swedish Institute of Space Physics: www.irf.se
Department of Space Science at Luleå University of Technology: www.ltu.se/irv
Summer courses: www.irf.se/link/summer_university
Swedish Space Corporation: www.ssc.se
SpaceMaster - Joint European Master of Space Science and Technology:  www.spacemaster.eu