Firefly and SSC clear key milestones toward a 2028 orbital launch from Sweden

Firefly Aerospace and SSC Space completed a set of milestones toward the first orbital launch from Esrange Space Center in Arctic Sweden: initial infrastructure at Launch Complex 3C (launch control center, payload processing facility, vehicle integration building, tracking and security systems), an April 2026 FAA–Swedish National Space Agency cooperation memorandum streamlining licensing for US rockets, and an agreement with the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration. Final pad construction is underway, targeting a first Alpha launch (1,000 kg to LEO) in 2028.

Why it matters

Orbital launch from mainland Western Europe doesn't exist yet — payloads go to Florida or French Guiana. A working Esrange pad gives Firefly a European revenue lane just as sovereign-launch demand rises (European governments increasingly want lift that doesn't cross the Atlantic), and the FAA–Sweden framework is reusable plumbing for any future US launcher in Europe.

What to watch

Pad completion and an Alpha vehicle assigned to the mission — and whether European institutional payloads book before first flight.