Swedish Space Corporation - Student rocket week at Esrange Space Center

2/3/2010

Rexus

Students at their first pub evening at Esrange Space Center
Foto: Gustav Casselbrant

This week Esrange Space Center is full of European students participating in the REXUS programme, a part of the REXUS/BEXUS programme (Rocket and Balloon Experiments for University Students). The students are preparing their experiments for a flight from Esrange space Center that will take place in the beginning of 2011.

The REXUS/BEXUS programme allows students from universities and higher education colleges across Europe to carry out scientific and technological experiments on research rockets and balloons. Each year, two rockets and two balloons are launched, carrying up to 20 experiments designed and built by student teams.

REXUS experiments are launched on an unguided, spin-stabilized rocket powered by an Improved Orion Motor with 290 kg of solid propellant. It is capable of taking 40 kg of student experiment modules to an altitude of approximately 100 km. The vehicle has a length of approx. 5.6 m and a body diameter of 35.6 cm.

BEXUS experiments are lifted by a balloon with a volume of 12 000 m³ to a maximum altitude of 35 km, depending on total experiment mass (40-100 kg).
The flight duration is 2-5 hours.

The REXUS / BEXUS programme is realized under a bilateral Agency Agreement between the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB). The Swedish share of the payload has been made available to students from other European countries through a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA).

EuroLaunch, a cooperation between the Esrange Space Center of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) and the Mobile Rocket Base (MORABA) of DLR, is responsible for the campaign management and operations of the launch vehicles. Experts from ESA, SSC and DLR provide technical support to the student teams throughout the project.