Environmental infrastructures of microgravity experiments and rocket testing in Sápmi
Chakad Ojani, University of Stockholm
Abstract
Sweden's sounding rocket range, Esrange, is commonly framed by space professionals as an infrastructure for microgravity experiments, rocket testing, and future satellite launches. Experimentation and testing here do not simply take place within an environment; they actively put that environment to the test, infrastructuralizing weather patterns and cycles of light and darkness. As part of a broader ecology of testing, subarctic conditions shape—and at times compromise—experiments by determining launch windows and accelerating or delaying action. At the same time, global space industry timelines impose new rhythms on the environment, ultimately recasting the landscape as a sacrifice zone.
Biography
Chakad Ojani is a Pro Futura Scientia Fellow in the Department of Social Anthropology at Stockholm University and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study. His research focuses on the anthropology of infrastructures, environmental anthropology, and science and technology studies.
Location
online via zoom (register for here)