Rexus and Bexus
Encyclopedia
REXUS/BEXUS is a European programme for student experiments on rockets and balloons. The programme utilises sounding rocket
s and balloon
s launched from Esrange
in northern Sweden.
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."
on an annual basis (nominally 2 rockets each spring), with full recovery and return of the experiment hardware to the students.
REXUS 10 (in development)
on an annual basis (nominally 2 balloons each autumn).
BEXUS 9
BEXUS 10/11
BEXUS 13
Sounding rocket
A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...
s and balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
s launched from Esrange
Esrange
Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...
in northern Sweden.
Responsible organisations
"The REXUS/BEXUS programme is realised 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."
REXUS
REXUS rockets are launched from EsrangeEsrange
Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...
on an annual basis (nominally 2 rockets each spring), with full recovery and return of the experiment hardware to the students.
- Type: Spin-stabilized rocket, powered by an Improved OrionImproved OrionImproved Orion is the designation of an American sounding rocket. It has a maximum flight altitude of 85 km, a liftoff thrust of 7.00 kN, a total mass of 400 kg, a core diameter of 0.35 m and a total length of 5.60 m....
motor - Mass: 515 kg (at launch)
- Size: 5.6 m long, body diameter 14 in (35.6 cm)
- Fuel: 290 kg of solid propellant
- Peak altitude: 80–100 km
- Payload: Student experiments of max 40 kg, system payload 60 kg
- Recovery: Helicopter
REXUS Missions
| Mission | Date | Launch site | Apogee | Comments | Reference Report | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REXUS 1 | 1995-12-04 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
89 km | Esrange EUK105-9603 | ||
| REXUS 2 | 2004-10-28 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
91.4 km | SSC | ||
| REXUS 3 | 2006-04-05 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
110 km | Esrange EUP136-E23 | SSC | |
| REXUS 4 | 2008-10-22 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
175 km | SSC | ||
| REXUS 5 | 2009-03-13 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
87.3 km | RX05_09_12_06 | SSC | |
| REXUS 6 | 2009-03-12 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
88.4 km | RX06_09_12_06 | SSC | |
| REXUS 7 | 2010-03-02 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
83 km | SSC | ||
| REXUS 8 | 2010-03-04 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
88 km | SSC | ||
| REXUS 9 | 2011-02-22 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
80.6 km | SSC | ||
| REXUS 10 | 2011-02-23 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
82 km | SSC | ||
REXUS Experiments
REXUS 8REXUS 10 (in development)
BEXUS
BEXUS balloons are launched from EsrangeEsrange
Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...
on an annual basis (nominally 2 balloons each autumn).
- Balloon: 10,000 - 12,000 m3 Zodiac 12 SF plastic balloon with helium gas
- Length of balloon train: 65–100 m from top of balloon to gondola
- Experiment mass: 40–100 kg
- Flight duration: 2–5 hours
- Peak altitude: 20–35 km
- Recovery: Helicopter
BEXUS Missions
| Mission | Date | Launch site | Balloon volume | Peak altitude | Flight duration | Comments | Reference Report | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEXUS 1 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
|||||||
| BEXUS 2 | 2004-02-26 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
10 000 m3 | 27 km | SSC | |||
| BEXUS 3 | 2005-03-22 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
28.5 km | SSC | ||||
| BEXUS 4 | 2006-06-19 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
10 000 m3 | 30 km | 3.2 hours | Esrange EUP137-E24 | SSC | |
| BEXUS 5 | 2007-03-28 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
12,000 m3 | 25 km | 3.5 hours | SSC | ||
| BEXUS 6 | 2008-10-08 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
10 000 m3 | 29 km | 2.5 hours | SSC | ||
| BEXUS 7 | 2008-10-08 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
12 000 m3 | 26 km | SSC | |||
| BEXUS 8 | 2009-10-10 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
SSC | |||||
| BEXUS 9 | 2009-10-11 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
SSC | |||||
| BEXUS 10 | 2010-10-09 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
22,5 km | 3 hours | SSC | |||
| BEXUS 11 | 2010-11-23 | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
12 000 m3 | SSC | ||||
| BEXUS 12 | TBD | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
SSC | |||||
| BEXUS 13 | TBD | Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things... |
SSC | |||||
BEXUS Experiments
BEXUS 7BEXUS 9
BEXUS 10/11
- CASS-E Cranfield Astrobiological Stratospheric Sampling Experiment
- PERDaixPERDaixPERDaix is a novel,small and light weight magnet spectrometer to measure the charge and mass dependent solar modulation periodically for deeper understanding of cosmic rays....
- I-BATE (International Space UniversityInternational Space UniversityThe International Space University is a private university founded in 1987. The University currently offers three degree granting programs — Master of Science in Space Management, Master of Science in Space Studies and Executive MBA — in addition to a non-degree-granting Space Studies Program.The...
- Balloon Air traffic control Technology Experiment)
BEXUS 13
See also
- EsrangeEsrangeEsrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...
- DLRGerman Aerospace CenterThe German Aerospace Center is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in...
- SNSB
- ESA
- TexusTEXUSTEXUS is a European/German sounding rocket programme, serving the microgravity programmes of ESA and DLR. The launches are conducted from Esrange in Sweden....
- MaserMaser (rocket)Maser is a sounding rocket that is used in the MASER microgravity research rocket programme, which is operated by the Swedish Space Corporation . The main customer is the European Space Agency , and in particular its EMIR and ELIPS programmes....
- MaxusMaxus (rocket)Maxus is a sounding rocket that are used in the MAXUS microgravity rocket programme, a joint venture between Swedish Space Corporation and EADS Astrium Space Transportation used by ESA...