8 Space activity in Norwegian public administration

In Norway as in the rest of the world, public-sector needs and public-sector undertakings have dominated space activity, and continue to do so. Many space-technology advances have been triggered by the service requirements of public authorities. In Norway, public-sector demand has centred on the need for effective services for the oil and gas industry, the shipping industry and the population of Svalbard. As space-based services have developed, government agencies have been able to employ them to address immediate needs, or to modernise their methods and services.

Public authorities play a key role in facilitating the development of national infrastructure. The space sector is no exception. Getting satellite systems to address Norwegian areas of interest has become as important to government as to industry. And space activities require large investments. Public authorities therefore play a pivotal role in bringing forth the robust space-based infrastructure that key industries require. Government can help facilitate the development of systems whose performance and coverage properties meet public and private user needs.

In 1987, Norway felt motivated to join ESA in order to fulfil the country’s goal of strengthening its technology, industrial capability and user services. Norwegian officials understood, however, that the benefits of membership could only be harvested if strategic actions were taken at the national level. That is why the Government of that time established the Norwegian Space Centre.

Over the past 25 years, Norwegian space activities have come far. Along the way, changes have been made to keep in step with national and international developments. At times, rapid processes have had to be initiated to seize opportunities as they arose.

The Norwegian state currently has administrative responsibility or ownership stakes in a number of space organisations and enterprises. The foremost of these are the Norwegian Space Centre, an agency, and the following companies: the Andøya Rocket Range AS, Norwegian Space Centre Properties AS and Kongsberg Satellite Services. The state also has ownership interests in companies whose space activities account for a minor part of their total business. That is the case with Kongsberg Gruppen, Telenor and Nammo. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has overall responsibility for Norwegian space policy, but the implications of space infrastructure are so broad as to involve other ministries and subordinate agencies as well. The Government therefore established an interdepartmental coordinating committee in connection with Norway’s agreement to join the Galileo programme.

8.1 Norwegian Space Centre

The Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) was set up as a public foundation in 1987. At first the foundation’s main duties lay in administering Norway’s ESA membership and operating the Andøya Rocket Range, but gradually its responsibilities were expanded. In 1995, Norwegian Space Centre Properties was spun off from the foundation as a company wholly owned by the space centre. Norwegian Space Centre Properties was created to own and operate infrastructure in Tromsø and eventually in Svalbard. The company operated ground stations in Tromsø and Svalbard until 2001, when Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) took them over. Ownership in KSAT was divided between Norwegian Space Centre Properties (50 per cent) and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (50 per cent). In 2005, when the Norwegian Space Centre was converted from a foundation into a government agency, the foundation’s ownership stakes in the Andøya Rocket Range (ARR) and Norwegian Space Centre Properties were transferred to the state.

Today the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) is an agency with a certain degree of autonomy within the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Under the current arrangement, the Storting each year authorises the NSC to manage the state’s ownership interests on behalf of the Ministry of Trade and Industry. That includes the authority to buy or sell shares in the companies, and to allocate dividends or sales income to space-related purposes.

The Norwegian Space Centre is designed to be the state’s agency for strategy, coordination and implementation, making efficient use of space for the benefit of Norwegian society. The NSC promotes and pursues Norwegian interests in ESA, in the EU satellite navigation programmes EGNOS and Galileo, in the initial operations phase of the EU earth observation programme Copernicus, and in several bilateral agreements. In addition, the NSC administers Norwegian national development support funding, assists Norwegian industrial actors and prepares a national long-term plan for space activity.

The Norwegian Space Centre has 30 permanent employees and eight temporary ones, and it administers the state’s ownership of the Andøya Rocket Range and Norwegian Space Centre Properties. The Ministry of Trade and Industry appoints the agency’s board of five members and two alternates. Board representatives are appointed on the basis of their qualifications, and have traditionally come from government agencies, industry, institutes and R & D organisations. NSC budgets are separate line items in the national budget. The budgeting system permits the agency to receive other income than what is provided through the national budget.

Source ESA/J. Makinen

8.2 State companies active in space

The Andøya Rocket Range, Norwegian Space Centre Properties and KSAT are the space-oriented Norwegian companies in which the state has both ownership and administrative responsibility. Public involvement and investment have helped turn the companies into substantial space-sector players. The space-related infrastructure they control makes Norway an attractive partner for international collaboration.

8.2.1 Andøya Rocket Range AS (ARR)

The ARR is a centre that provides research support to scientists studying atmospheric phenomena, primarily through the launch of rockets and research balloons. The centre is organised as a limited company owned by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (90 per cent) and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (10 per cent).

As a coastal island far from major settlements, Andøya’s location is a competitive advantage exploited not only for research rocket launching, but increasingly for other activities that require lots of space, such as the testing of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

With 65 employees, the ARR is one of the leading high-technology centres in northern Norway. It started in 1962 as an operational arm of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, and became a limited company in 1997. In addition to the launch facility at Andøya, ARR’s assets include the Svalbard Rocket Range (SvalRak) at Ny-Ålesund and two wholly owned subsidiaries: the Andøya Test Centre (ATC) and the Norwegian Centre for Space-Related Education (NAROM). The ARR also runs the Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmospheric Research (ALOMAR).

The ATC offers testing of rocket technology for the defence industry and civilian space activities, and it buys most of its services from the ARR. The Norwegian Armed Forces use the ATC to test anti-ship missiles and has made investments to optimise conditions there. NAROM (see Box 8.2) educates teachers, university-level students and school pupils. Half of its budget is funded by a Ministry of Education and Research grant. The Andøya-based ALOMAR examines our atmosphere using a laser technology called lidar («light radar») and a variety of other measuring instruments. The ability to combine measurements taken at ALOMAR with those obtained by sounding rockets is a competitive advantage for ARR. The SvalRak rocket range in Ny-Ålesund is used to launch sounding rockets. SvalRak is not permanently staffed, but is staffed by ARR personnel as needed.

ARR operations are supported in part by a multinational agreement, the Esrange Andøya Special Project (EASP), with participation by Sweden, Norway, Germany, France and Switzerland. In 2012, revenues from this agreement accounted for approximately 45 per cent of sales. The share coming from international government sources has declined steadily the past 10 years.

The EASP agreement is a cooperative arrangement for use of the rocket ranges at Kiruna, Sweden, and Andøya. Norway joined the pact in its current form in 1990, but had been active since 1973 through an association accord with Sweden. The current agreement is automatically extended for five years at a time if none of the parties wish to change it. The present agreement covers the period from 2011 to 2015. It ensures the continuance of basic infrastructure and permits access to the facilities by user countries at somewhat reduced rates.

Germany is the country that makes the most use of the ARR through the EASP agreement. A large multi-year German-Norwegian rocket campaign called ECOMA, designed to measure meteoric dust in the atmosphere, was recently completed. Specific German research plans suggest a continued use of sounding rockets at Andøya. Other countries, too, have ties to the ARR. The United States has been and remains Norway’s most important partner in space. This collaboration is based on a 2006 bilateral agreement that began as an agreement on shared activity involving sounding rockets at Andøya. A number of countries, including some that are not EASP participants, maintain scientific equipment at or near the ARR.

In 2012, Norway’s funding contribution to the ARR under the EASP agreement came to about 2.3 million euros, while the combined contribution of the other countries was about 1.3 million euros. In addition come direct mission revenues from users of the rocket range (universities and research institutes). Rocket missions are sporadic by nature, with their duration depending on both the atmospheric conditions and the technical challenges that arise. The EASP agreement gives the ARR a smoother revenue stream and a longer planning horizon than dependence on mission revenues alone would have provided.

Other sources of operational support include customer payments and subsidies from the national budget for education activities. The ARR has received a total of NOK 17.6 million in funding from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to upgrade its infrastructure. This support is provided by way of earmarked funds from the ministry within the national development support programme administered by the Norwegian Space Centre.

More than 70 people work at Andenes (the main settlement on the island of Andøya) for the ARR, ATC and NAROM. The focus on high technology and international relations makes this an attractive, income-generating element of the regional economy, drawing a great many visiting scientists, teachers and students.

8.2.2 Norwegian Space Centre Properties AS

The purpose of Norwegian Space Centre Properties is to help develop space-related infrastructure. Its activities are viewed in the context of the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC) itself. The state, represented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, owns 100 per cent of the share capital of Norwegian Space Centre Properties. The NSC, a government agency, administers the state’s ownership interests, as approved in the Government resolution of 12 December 2003. On behalf of the state, the NSC appoints the board members of Norwegian Space Centre Properties. The company receives no state subsidies.

Source Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc)

Norwegian Space Centre Properties’ focus on infrastructure development has been important to the High North. The company owns 50 per cent of KSAT, which operates satellite stations in Svalbard, Tromsø and Antarctica. The company also owns the fibre-optic cable linking Harstad on the Norwegian mainland to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. The fibre-optic cable was laid to serve the Svalbard Satellite Station and permit its further development.

The installation of a fibre-optic connection between Svalbard and the mainland in 2002 illustrated how ownership in Norwegian Space Centre Properties could be used strategically to achieve greater benefits than would otherwise be possible. The most significant part of the funding for the cable was obtained with help from loans originating in a long-term contract between the NSC on the one hand and NASA and NOAA of the United States on the other. Through agreements with Telenor and Uninett, Norwegian Space Centre Properties has ensured that the fibre-optic cable capacity also benefits other parts of the Svalbard community. The cable connection was established to serve KSAT’s satellite station, but it has also contributed to a major improvement in communications options for Longyearbyen.

Norwegian Space Centre Properties has also leased capacity from Telenor for broadband communications to Antarctica via the Thor 7 satellite. The capacity is subleased to KSAT, the main user, but the entire Troll research station will enjoy the benefits when the connection is opened 2014.

8.2.3 Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT)

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace owns the remaining 50 per cent in KSAT, which was founded in 2001. Prior to that, several foreign companies were involved in operating the satellite stations in Tromsø and Svalbard. The results were poor in several ways, and financial performance at times was highly negative. Through acquisitions and mergers, the Norwegian Space Centre helped sort out the ownership situation, concluding with the current two-way shared ownership of the ground station operations.

Source KSAT

Norwegian Space Centre Properties’ ownership stake in KSAT helps secure state control of strategic infrastructure. Much of the company’s business is tied to the infrastructure in Svalbard and Antarctica. Even so, KSAT is a commercial company that has developed very positively, with 2012 sales in excess of NOK 400 million. KSAT today runs the largest ground stations in the world for satellites in polar orbit, and posts solid earnings from the services it provides to public and private international clients.

KSAT currently has ground stations in Svalbard (SvalSat), Tromsø and Grimstad and at Norway’s Troll base (TrollSat) in Antarctica, but also in Dubai, South Africa, Singapore and Mauritius. In addition, KSAT has signed agreements with suppliers for access to data from stations in South America, North America and Australia. The company is in a phase of significant expansion.

In recent years KSAT has also turned decisively towards the provision of satellite-based earth observation services. KSAT is a global leader in oil-spill monitoring. The company also provides services related to ship tracking, ice and snow mapping and navigation in icy waters. In 2009, 22 per cent of revenues stemmed from earth observation services.

8.2.4 Opportunities and challenges in state administration and ownership

By helping facilitate the construction of national space infrastructure, or by supporting the emergence of new technologies and services that meet both public and private user needs, the state can play a key role in developing Norway’s space sector. The challenges – and opportunities – consist in organising the state’s administrative and ownership roles so as to help achieve the objectives of Norwegian space policy in the best possible manner, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

The Andøya Rocket Range, Norwegian Space Centre Properties and KSAT are companies in which the Norwegian state has administrative and ownership roles. Their operations have grown as a consequence of substantial public investment and effort over several decades, reflecting Norway’s top priorities in space. The companies were established as important sectoral policy tools, and have contributed to Norway’s position as an attractive partner for national and international space-related organisations.

The establishment of the ARR and Norwegian Space Centre Properties as corporations has helped clarify management and responsibility issues, and paved the way for efficient operations and service sales in the marketplace. KSAT has built a solid commercial foundation for its activities while operating strategically important infrastructure in Svalbard and Queen Maud Land in Antarctica. The combination of public ownership, strategic interests and commercial considerations makes it necessary to clarify the state’s different roles.

Today, the ARR, Norwegian Space Centre Properties and KSAT all manage valuable assets – and they do so commercially. Nonetheless there are differences in the operations, objectives and growth potential of the three companies:

• The ARR’s main activities are tied to the infrastructure used in space-related research and education. Although operating results have been satisfactory in recent years, subsidies from the national budget have been necessary to fund substantial investments and modernisation.

• Norwegian Space Centre Properties is a significant owner and developer of strategic Norwegian space infrastructure, and stands out more clearly as a sectoral policy instrument. Its 2010 agreement with Telenor to lease Thor 7 satellite capacity for broadband communication with the Troll station in Antarctica came roughly to NOK 100 million. When, in addition, one considers the company’s ownership stake in KSAT, its fibre-optic cable to Svalbard and its other High North infrastructure, Norwegian Space Centre Properties gives the impression of a robust, dynamic company. The company receives no state subsidies.

• KSAT has undergone strong commercial development since its inception. The company has solid earnings from the sale of services, and 30 per cent of profits are paid as dividends to the two owners, Norwegian Space Centre Properties and Kongsberg Gruppen. The majority of KSAT activities are nonetheless related to the operation of the vital infrastructure in Svalbard and Antarctica.

The current structures through which the state exercises administrative responsibility and ownership at the Andøya Rocket Range, Norwegian Space Centre Properties and KSAT have led to concerns over the state’s different roles as owner and grant administrator in the space field. Such concerns become more urgent as the companies’ market strength increases. The scope and organisation of state ownership must accommodate both industrial growth on a commercial basis and the continued pursuit of policy goals.

The Government will therefore undertake a detailed assessment of the state’s interests in the ownership of ARR, Norwegian Space Centre Properties and KSAT, and of the significance these companies have today as sectoral policy tools. At the same time, it is important to recognise that these companies manage valuable assets. KSAT is distinguished by its strong commercial base, which may have significance for company’s ownership structure. The Government will also explore the degree to which state ownership affects the ability of the companies to fulfil their international partnership roles, and it will examine what correlations exist between the companies’ business activities and the contractual obligations of Norwegian authorities and the Norwegian Space Centre.

Consideration will also be given to the best way of organising state ownership in the companies to ensure proper corporate governance with regard to objectivity and the problematic issue of public subsidies, and to ensure that the companies effectively fulfil their sectoral policy roles. That would also be in line with recommendations made in the PwC report. The Office of the Auditor General of Norway has raised questions about the administration of the Andøya Rocket Range and Norwegian Space Centre Properties by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Norwegian Space Centre, most recently in Document 1 (2012–2013). As a specially empowered agency within the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the NSC is to be the state’s organ for the strategy, coordination and practise of space activity. Under current arrangements, the NSC is authorised each year by the Storting to manage the state’s ownership interests. This authorisation includes, as previously mentioned, the power to buy or sell shares in the companies and to expend dividend or sales income for space-related purposes. The Ministry of Trade and Industry and the NSC maintain close dialogue on management issues, and managers of the NSC also hold positions in the Andøya Rocket Range, Norwegian Space Centre Properties and their subsidiaries. These organisational relationships will be subject to renewed evaluation.

8.3 Ministries and agencies

Space activities affect many ministries and agencies, each of which is responsible for user perspectives in a particular sector or operational sphere. Many Norwegian agencies and centres of expertise cooperate with the NSC on development projects to identify potential benefits from space-based services, including the particular ways that such services might help each agency or centre to perform its duties more efficiently.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry is Norway’s national space ministry. It participates in ESA’s ministerial-level council and in the ESA/EU Space Council. The NSC coordinates national space programmes on behalf of the ministry. Appropriations to ESA and the NSC come entirely from the budget of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which is also responsible for the lion’s share of public funding for space infrastructure. The ministry is also in charge of Norway’s participation in the Galileo and Copernicus programmes, with the NSC serving as secretariat.

Since Norway became a member of ESA in 1987, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has been the Norwegian state’s main agent in space activities, both nationally and internationally. From the start, its tasks focused largely on developing industrial capability and skills. Eventually, as actual services came into being, greater focus was given to developing solutions for public-sector use. As new applications are demonstrated, it has been left to the individual ministries and agencies to determine whether and how to leverage the applications to improve their own operations.

The Ministry of Education and Research contributes to space research through the Research Council of Norway. When Norway joined ESA in 1987, the Research Council’s predecessor was assigned the responsibility of funding basic research that ESA made ​​possible, including instrument building and participation by Norwegian research groups.

The Research Council also coordinates Norwegian participation in EISCAT and the Nordic Optical Telescope. The Ministry of Education and Research pays Norway’s dues in EUMETSAT, where the Meteorological Institute represents Norway with support from the Norwegian Space Centre. The ministry demonstrates its commitment to space-related learning through its supervision of universities, colleges and research institutions. The ministry funds aspects of the Norwegian Centre for Space-Related Education (NAROM). Basic funding for universities and colleges comprises its most significant contribution to space-related research and teaching.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs is responsible for the coordination of civilian radio navigation policy, a field that includes satellite-based navigation. The Norwegian Coastal Administration monitors ship traffic and oil spills by satellite. It is the main user of the Norwegian satellite that monitors ship traffic at sea. It is also responsible for the BarentsWatch project. The Directorate of Fisheries and the Institute of Marine Research use satellite-derived information for research, monitoring, resource management and planning.

The Ministry of Defence contributes to space research and earth observation through the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (Norwegian acronym: FFI). The Norwegian Armed Forces, including the Coast Guard, use information gathered from earth observation, communications and navigation satellites. Their satellite data requirements are expected to become so extensive in the years ahead that they plan to acquire their own satellite capacity. The Norwegian National Security Authority contributes to security programmes associated with the Galileo project and illuminates the importance of space infrastructure as an aspect of our nation’s public security. Through the Globus 2 radar at Vardø, the Armed Forces help in the monitoring of space debris. The Ministry of Defence administers an agreement with the United States on access to the GPS system’s military element.

The Ministry of Justice and Public Security has both direct and indirect use for satellite services because of its responsibility for civil protection and crisis management. Norway’s rescue coordination centres use space services in connection with rescue operations, and the ministry participates in the international COSPAS-SARSAT search-and-rescue collaboration. During rescue actions in Svalbard, the authorities increasingly employ all three forms of satellite assistance: communications, navigation and earth observation. Satellite-based infrastructure is also used by the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and the Norwegian National Security Authority. The police are a pertinent consumer of new space services like Galileo’s Public Regulated Service.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is responsible for agricultural businesses, which use satellite-based navigation and positioning services for a variety of purposes. In the forestry industry, satellite-based positioning services are used throughout the value chain. Livestock and reindeer, meanwhile, can graze more safely in uncultivated areas if fitted with radio beacons traceable by navigation satellite. Such monitoring has positive animal-welfare consequences by permitting closer supervision and more efficient round-ups at season’s end. Positioning services are also used when carrying out agricultural mapping and monitoring programmes. Agriculture-related earth observation research has led to operative mapping systems for forests and other wilderness resources.

The Ministry of the Environment represents Norway in some of the governing bodies of the EU’s Copernicus earth observation programme. The Norwegian Environment Agency, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Norwegian Mapping Authority all use satellite-based earth observation and/or navigation services. Through the independent Norwegian Institute for Air Research, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are quantified. Environmental officials use space-derived information in their reporting to international environmental monitoring programmes. The ministry supports the use of satellite data for monitoring tropical forests.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is responsible for traffic flow and safety issues throughout the transport sector. The sector’s use of satellite-based navigation services is growing. Major public users are Avinor, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Directorate of Public Roads and the Norwegian National Rail Administration. Through the Post and Telecommunications Authority, the ministry is responsible for radio frequency management, including the frequencies used by satellites, and for issuing permits to build and operate earth stations. The Governor of Svalbard enforces the specific provisions of Article 3 in Norway’s earth station regulation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contribute to research activity through project funding to the Research Council of Norway. It is the ministry’s responsibility to make sure that Norway’s obligations under international law are addressed as space activities are pursued. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is party to a number of international initiatives involving space; these focus on topics such as crisis preparedness, maritime search-and-rescue and forest protection.

8.4 Inter-ministerial coordinating committee for space activities

Norway’s inter-ministerial coordinating committee for Galileo (Norwegian acronym: IKU) was created to coordinate matters relating to Norway’s Galileo participation. The committee’s statutory authority resides in Proposition No. 54 to the Storting (2008–2009).

But as the number of other Norwegian space issues proliferated – including matters related to the AIS satellites, the Andøya Rocket Range, BarentsWatch, Copernicus, Radarsat, research projects and the EU’s space strategy – it was felt that the committee should handle them as well. All these issues have interested parties in several ministries. Coordination among ministries helps maximise the benefit from the Norwegian state’s investments in space.

In 2011, therefore, the committee became the inter-ministerial coordinating committee for space activities (in Norwegian: Det interdepartementale koordineringsutvalget for romvirksomhet). The committee’s job is to coordinate the handling of space-related issues by relevant ministries and to be an arena for information exchange. The committee meets two to three times per year, adjusting the tempo as required by events. It is headed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, with the Norwegian Space Centre acting as secretariat. Other participants are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the National Security Authority.