TEXUS

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Start of the Texus 49 mission

In the German science program TEXUS (Technological Experiments under Weightlessness ), scientists use research rockets to carry out biological, material science and physical experiments under space conditions .

history

The program has been funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the German Aerospace Center (DLR) since 1976 . Today it is the world's most successful and longest-running rocket program for scientific experiments and technology trials in weightlessness. TEXUS also plays an important role in the preparation of experiments intended for the International Space Station ISS.

One or two campaigns take place every year. Brazilian two-stage rockets of the type VSB-30 have been used for this purpose since 2005 (previously mostly British sounding rockets of the type Skylark 7), which are launched from Esrange near Kiruna in northern Sweden. They reach a summit height of around 250 kilometers in ballistic flight. For six minutes an almost weightlessness is achieved, which is only about a ten-thousandth of the normal gravity . The payload of the rockets then lands on the parachute and is recovered by helicopter.

Payloads

During this time, the experiments are located in superimposed, autonomous modules inside the rocket. During the flight, the scientists can control and monitor their experiments directly from the ground using telecommanding and video transmission. The data is obtained via telemetry during the flight or after the scientific payload has been recovered.

The TEXUS program is characterized by:

• extensive reusability of the payloads
• relatively short preparation and access times
• a regular opportunity to research under weightlessness
• lower safety requirements than for astronautical missions
• a relatively inexpensive implementation

The main industrial contractor for the construction of the TEXUS payloads and the missions is Airbus Defense and Space in Bremen . The subcontractors are OHB System AG ( Munich ) and DLR MORABA ( Oberpfaffenhofen ). By 2013, 50 TEXUS flights had already been carried out. DLR makes TEXUS available to scientists from German research institutions for selected experiments. This includes topics from the field of gravitational biology, fluid physics and flow research in capillary channels.

Texus missions

This list is incomplete, but all of the launches since 1993 are included.

mission	date	Launch site	engine	apogee	payload	module	Comments	Reference report
Texus 30	May 1, 1993	Esrange	Skylark 7		376 kg		Moraba start list
Texus 31	November 26, 1993	Esrange	Skylark 7		346 kg
Texus 32	May 5, 1994	Esrange	Skylark 7		390 kg
Texus 33	November 13, 1994	Esrange	Skylark 7		331 kg
Texus 34	March 2, 1996	Esrange	Skylark 7	232 km	392 kg	4 / DLR		Esrange EUK112-9613
Texus 35	November 24, 1996	Esrange	Skylark 7	267 km	331 kg	4 / (DLR + ESA)		Esrange EUK114-9704
Texus 36	February 7, 1998	Esrange	Skylark 7	238 km
Texus 37	March 27, 2000	Esrange	Skylark 7	245 km	369 kg			Esrange EUK130-E2
Texus 38	April 2, 2000	Esrange	Skylark 7	250 km	369 kg		Defective parachute; Scientific experiments successful	Esrange EUK130-E2
Texus 39	May 8, 2001	Esrange	Skylark 7	248 km	362 kg	4 / DLR		Esrange EUK148-E11
Texus 40	April 8, 2003	Esrange	Skylark 7	246 km	364 kg	4 / DLR		Esrange EUK154-E19
Texus 41	December 2, 2004	Esrange	Skylark 7	230 km	402 kg	4 / DLR		Esrange EUK163-E21
Texus 42	December 1, 2005	Esrange	VSB-30	263 km	372 kg	1 / DLR , 1 / ESA
Texus 43	May 11, 2006	Esrange	VSB-30	237 km	407 kg	3 / ESA		Esrange EUK170-E19
Texus 44	February 7, 2008	Esrange	VSB-30	264 km	373 kg	3 / ESA		Esrange EUK173-E42
Texus 45	February 21, 2008	Esrange	VSB-30	264 km	357 kg	2 / DLR , 1 / ESA		Esrange EUK174-E17
Texus 46	November 22, 2009	Esrange	VSB-30	252 km	392.9 kg	2	The payload was in zero gravity for 6 minutes 28 seconds. It reached an altitude of 252.3 km and consisted of a 1.2 m long, 103 kg heavy, cylindrical Japanese Combustion Module (JCM) for studying the combustion of nitrogen oxides under the conditions of microgravity and a 1.8 m long and 177 , 3 kg electromagnetic levitator (EML), an ESA experiment to investigate the melting behavior of two alloys, the first a steel alloy, the second a palladium-silicon alloy.
Texus 47	November 29, 2009	Esrange	VSB-30	263.6 km	373.5 kg	4th
Texus 49	March 29, 2011	Esrange	VSB-30
Texus 48	November 27, 2011	Esrange	VSB-30	263 km		1 / DLR , 2 / ESA	In about 6 minutes of weightlessness, technologies for an improved fuel supply in rocket upper stages and the orientation ability of fish larvae were examined
Texus 50	April 12th, 2013	Esrange	VSB-30	261 km		4 / DLR	Four German experiments from biology and materials research
Texus 51	April 23, 2015	Esrange	VSB-30	259 km		4 / DLR	Four German experiments on the quality and efficiency of solar cells, a frequency comb laser, disorders of the human immune system and solidification of metallic alloys
Texus 52	April 27, 2015	Esrange	VSB-30	260 km		4 / DLR

MiniTexus missions

mission	date	Launch site	engine	apogee	payload	module	Comments	Reference report
MiniTexus 1	November 29, 1993	Esrange	Nike Orion
MiniTexus 2	May 3, 1994	Esrange	Nike Orion
MiniTexus 3	May 2, 1995	Esrange	Nike Orion	125 km	200 kg	1 / DLR	Successfully	Esrange EUK109-66
MiniTexus 4	April 29, 1995	Esrange	Nike Orion	148 km	162 kg	2 / DLR	Successfully	Esrange EUK109-66
MiniTexus 5	February 11, 1998	Esrange	Nike Orion
MiniTexus 6	December 3, 1998	Esrange	Nike Orion

See also

• Maxus space program

Web links

• EADS Astrium - TEXUS

Individual evidence

1. ↑ FlugRevue June 2008, pp. 108–111, Rockets at the Arctic Circle
2. ↑ Mission overview of the experiments of the Swedish Space Corporation ( Memento of the original of December 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Moraba start list
4. ↑ DLR message to TEXUS 48
5. ↑ DLR report on Texus 50
6. ↑ DLR message to TEXUS 51