VIKING

THE MISSION

VIKING was the first Swedish satellite. It’s mission was twofold:

• to be an industrial policy tool helping Swedish industry expand its capabilities in the space technology area
• to perform a qualified “scientific first” space exploration.

Scientifically the satellite’s mission was to study processes leading up to the appearance  of northern light (Aurora Borealis). The satellite conducted a very successful magnetospheric research mission until May 12, 1987.

OHB SWEDEN CONTIBUTION

The VIKING project was managed by OHB Sweden (at the time part of the Swedish Space Corporation, SSC). The satellite was developed by SAAB Space with Boeing Aerospace as a major subcontractor.

CUSTOMER/USER

Viking was built under contract from the Swedish National Space Agency.

LAUNCH DATE

VIKING was launched on February 22, 1986 as a piggyback payload on the Ariane 1 rocket.