Norway’s Labor party politicians had called for faster financing of space satellite project of Andoya Space Center (ASC) in the northern county of Nordland county, public broadcaster NRK reported Thursday.
ASC, 90 percent owned by Ministry of Trade and Fisheries and 10 percent by technology giant Kongsberg Gruppen, is working to send satellites into orbit around the earth. However, the Swedes, the Portuguese and the Scots have similar goals, NRK reported.
“This in itself is a very important issue for Norway when it comes to development of technology. It is also of course important for Andoya in the transition phase they are in. Therefore, we should get clarity in this without any more delays,” Jonas Gahr Store, leader of Labor party, told NRK.
The center requested up to 1.3 billion Norwegian kroner (146.2 million U.S. dollars) from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
“The Andoya Space Center has asked the state to invest in the project on a commercial basis. The Ministry has engaged an external adviser to assist the Ministry in assessing whether the project will be a commercially profitable investment for the state,” Hannah Atic, State Secretary in Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, told NRK.
