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Germany and Norway are planning to intensify cooperation to help make European space travel more independent, the two countries’ leaders affirmed during a visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday.<\/p>\n
“We have relied on other launch systems and other nations in the world for far too long,” Merz said during a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re on a visit to the Norwegian spaceport on the island of And\u00f8ya, 300 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle.<\/p>\n
“Now is Europe’s moment.”<\/p>\n
The two leaders announced the formation of a strategic working group consisting of government and industry representatives to explore opportunities for deeper cooperation.<\/p>\n
“The group will work on proposals for specific projects, with timetables and possible links to the EU and NATO frameworks,” St\u00f8re said.<\/p>\n
The Norwegian leader stressed that space exploration is an increasingly important field in which the two countries complement one another.<\/p>\n
“Germany has a broad industrial base \u2013 and here in Norway we have the technology, established research fields and a unique strategic geographical location,” he said.<\/p>\n
Merz arrived in Norway on Thursday for a two-day visit, including to the And\u00f8ya Spaceport in Andenes, from where more than 700 research rockets and balloons have been launched since 1962.<\/p>\n
In the coming days, the Spectrum rocket, which is designed by German startup company Isar Aerospace to carry small satellites into low Earth orbit, is due to undergo testing there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n