NEWS

The two nations are ready to sign a 10-year extension of the agreement this week, which means they can plan on fruitful cooperation in many years to come.

The basis for this extensive and expanding cooperation is the “Agreement Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Norway for Cooperation in the Civil Uses of Outer Space.”

In the agreement, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) on the U.S. side and the Norwegian Space Centre on the Norwegian side are identified as ”Implementing Agencies.” For these agencies, the agreement makes it possible to carry out cooperative activities efficiently and effectively.

The United States of America and Norway have had a long and succesful cooperation in the civil use of outer space. The cooperation started as early as 1962 with the launch of sounding rockets in Andøya, Northern Norway. The cooperation has continuosly expanded in the years since to include other areas.

Today the cooperation includes ground services for satellites from Svalbard, Tromsø and the Antarctic, and fiber optic communication from Svalbard – and the nations are still making sounding rocket launches from Andøya.