Lesson plan

Esrange

Esrange Space Center or Esrange is Sweden's space and research center located about 40 kilometers east of the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden, owned and operated by SSC Space. The base itself covers 20 square kilometers, while the impact area for rockets is 5,600 km 2 . Located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, the geographic location of Esrange is advantageous thanks to the limited light pollution, allowing for studies of northern lights. The stable climate, limited commercial air traffic and sparsely populated area are further reasons why the location is well suited for space activities. Esrange was constructed in 1964 by ESRO, which later became European Space Agency by merging with ELDO, the European Launcher Development Organisation. In 1972 the management of Esrange was transferred to SSC Space. Today, Esrange is a center for scientific research and commercial spaceflight, through launches of sounding rockets and high-altitude balloons, studies of the aurora borealis, rocket tests, satellite launches and other space-related and atmospheric research. To date, more than 600 sounding rockets have been launched and nearly 700 stratospheric balloons have been released from Esrange. The facility is also the hub of the world's second largest civilian network of satellite ground stations which is used to communicate with, track and downlink data from satellites in orbit.…

Back to article

Article summary

Esrange Space Center or Esrange is Sweden's space and research center located about 40 kilometers east of the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden, owned and operated by SSC Space. The base itself covers 20 square kilometers, while the impact area for rockets is 5,600 km 2 . Located 200 km north of the Arctic Circle, the geographic location of Esrange is advantageous thanks to the limited light pollution, allowing for studies of northern lights. The stable climate, limited commercial air traffic and sparsely populated area are further reasons why the location is well suited for space activities. Esrange was constructed in 1964 by ESRO, which later became European Space Agency by merging with ELDO, the European Launcher Development Organisation. In 1972 the management of Esrange was transferred to SSC Space. Today, Esrange is a center for scientific research and commercial spaceflight, through launches of sounding rockets and high-altitude balloons, studies of the aurora borealis, rocket tests, satellite launches and other space-related and atmospheric research. To date, more than 600 sounding rockets have been launched and nearly 700 stratospheric balloons have been released from Esrange. The facility is also the hub of the world's second largest civilian network of satellite ground stations which is used to communicate with, track and downlink data from satellites in orbit.…

Key claims

  1. area: 20 square kilometers — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of establishment: 1964 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the area is "20 square kilometers". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of establishment is "1964". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378065618

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.