Since its inception in 1966, more than 500 sounding rockets have been launched from Esrange Space Center.
Experiments
The rockets carry experiments for research in microgravity but also experiments for astrophysics, astronomy and atmospheric studies.
Experiments flights on sounding rockets can often supplement, or even replace, much more expensive flights onboard space shuttles or the International Space Station. The experiments spend between 6-12 minutes in weightlessness, depending on the type of rocket used.
Two different types of rockets
SSC has developed more than 60 rocket riders for atmospheric research and research in microgravity. What we can offer are two different types of rockets for microgravity research, MASER, which reaches a height of 250 km and offers six minutes of weightlessness and MAXUS, which reaches up to about 800 km altitude and gives about 12 minutes of weightlessness.
Return of payloads
After landing with a parachute retrieved experiments (payload) return by helicopter to Esrange Space Center and scientists can recover their experiment module within an hour.
