Completed, Rocket Missions

MAXUS 9

January 20, 2017
MAXUS 9

MAXUS IS EUROPE’S LARGEST SOUNDING ROCKET
The MAXUS sounding rocket programme was funded by Airbus DS and SSC in 1990 as an industrial joint venture.
ESA has been the single user of the programme since the very beginning, financed through the European Programme for Life and Physical Science in Space (ELIPS).

MAXUS carries 4-5 Scientific experiment modules of a total mass of up to 575 kg. The experiment modules are developed by SSC and Airbus DS under ESA contract.

MAXUS 9 is launched from SSC’s launch facility Esrange Space Center outside Kiruna. This is the tenth MAXUS mission launched from Esrange Space Center.

THE PROJECT
MAXUS 9 project was started in 2013.

THE MISSION
MAXUS 9 was successfully launched at 09:30 UTC on April 7.

General Information:

Launch site Esrange Space Center
Launch date launched on April 7, 2017
Customer ESA
Launch contractor Airbus DS GmbH and SSC

Technical information

Rocket motor Castor IVB
Launcher MAXUS mobile tower
Motor length 9 m
Motor launch weight 10 tonnes
Burning time 65 s
Apogee 700 km
Microgravity 12 min
Maximum speed 3,3 km/s
Maximum acceleration 130 m/s2 (13 G)
Payload length 6,5 m
Payload mass 849 kg
Scientific payload mass 579 kg

Scientific payload

Experiment module Experiment name, description, and investigator Mass, length Comments
PERWAVES Percolating Reactive Waves in Particulate Suspensions
Higgins, A.J
McGill University of Montreal		 142,4 kg, 108 cm
EUGRAPHO Determination of gravitactic threshold in Euglena gracilis after previous microgravity phases and An assay to determine the role of cAMP in phototaxis and gravitaxis of Euglena gracilis.
Lebert, M
University of Erlang		 149,6 kg, 90 cm
XRMON-Diff In-situ X-ray monitoring of advances metallurgical processes under microgravity and terrestrial conditions
Florian Kargl
DLR Cologne		 106,6 kg, 65 cm Re-flight from MAXUS 8 with a modified experiment
GRADECET Gravity Dependence of CET in Peritetic TiAl Alloys
Hecht, U
ACCESS e.V. Aachen		 165,1 kg, 92 cm Re-flight from MAXUS 8
SUPERMAX Supersonic Parachute Experiment Ride on MAXUS
Longo J and Ferracina L.
ESA ESTEC		 143,8kg, 20 cm Additional passenger, released from the payload prior to microgravity conditions

THE PAYLOAD

The payload consists of the five experiment modules and the service systems.

 

______________________________________________________________

 

 

Contact persons:

Gunnar Florin, Project Manager (SSC)
gunnar.florin@sscspace.com

Mark Smith, Project Manager for the preparatory work of the ground support facilities at ESC (SSC)
mark.smith@sscspace.com

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