Historic Danish Space Milestone
Today, Sunday, 22 June, 2025 Space Inventor will launch Denmark’s first satellite for monitoring Greenland and the Arctic into orbit
Together with Terma, Gatehouse SatCom, DTU, and Sweden’s Unibap Space Solutions, satellite manufacturer Space Inventor, based in Aalborg, Denmark, has spent the past seven years developing the BIFROST surveillance satellite. On Saturday 21 June at 21:19 UTC, the satellite will be launched into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket – Transporter 14. It marks the first time in history that a satellite has been launched specifically to monitor Greenland and the Arctic.
Aalborg, 22 June 2025 – BIFROST is a Danish-Swedish surveillance satellite originally developed by Space Inventor. Since then, Terma, Gatehouse SatCom, DTU, and Swedish Unibap Space Solutions have joined the development project, which is financially supported by DALO (Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation) under the Danish Ministry of Defence and FMV (Swedish Defence Materiel Administration) under the Swedish Ministry of Defence.
After seven years of development, the satellite will be launched into orbit on 21 June from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch is initiated by the Danish and Swedish Defence ministries as part of the Danish government’s Space Strategy for Research and Innovation 2025–2035, introduced in 2024. The strategy highlights the Arctic as a security policy priority, where space-based technologies play a vital role in supporting the tasks of the military and emergency services. These include, for example, monitoring navigation in icy waters, search and rescue operations, and enforcing sovereignty across the Kingdom of Denmark.
Watch the Launch
Real-Time Intelligence from Space
The satellite represents a pioneering Danish achievement, combining state-of-the-art technologies within artificial intelligence, advanced sensor systems, inter-satellite communication, and modern satellite design. BIFROST is engineered specifically for the Danish and Swedish Defence forces and will enable space-based surveillance, target identification, and real-time event reporting in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. Its purpose is to strengthen AI-supported situational awareness and tactical observations, improving Denmark and Sweden’s capabilities to respond quickly and share data across European and international partnerships.
Statements
Space is an increasingly strategic domain for defence policy. This satellite launch clearly demonstrates the potential of space-based technologies to contribute to both Danish and Nordic security and defence. Denmark is highly invested in the future of the space sector, and these solutions give us the ability to monitor every corner of the Kingdom. The satellite will provide important knowledge to our armed forces. As space technologies evolve rapidly worldwide, Danish companies continue to show great innovation and ingenuity. I look forward to following this mission closelyAbout BIFROST
The BIFROST satellite is a microsatellite weighing approximately 50 kilograms with a wingspan of five meters. It carries a range of sensors capable of capturing optical images and multispectral data in the infrared spectrum.
With a constellation of 20 such satellites, Denmark and Sweden would be able to monitor Arctic maritime activity 24 hours a day.
The Consortium
