TEXUS 48 was successfully launched on November 27, 2011, at 09.10 UTC
| Launch 2011-11-27 | |
| TEM 06-31 Behavioural observation and calcium biomineralization of fish otoliths in microgravity | |
The project
The TEXUS project is a sounding rocket program with the primary aim to investigate the properties and behavior of materials, chemicals, and biological substances in a microgravity environment. The TEXUS program gives around six minutes of microgravity.
The TEXUS programme started in 1977 and is carried out at the Esrange Space Center jointly by DLR and EADS Astrium. SSC is responsible for the launch operations. The TEXUS campaigns are sometimes financed by ESA or jointly financed by DLR and ESA.
TEXUS 48
The rocket vehicle Skylark 7 was used very successfully for the first 25 years until the motor was no longer available. The Brazilian motor VSB-30 has been used for the TEXUS programme since 2005 and will be used to launch the TEXUS 48 payload to around 270 km altitude.
General information
| Launch site | Esrange Space Center |
| Launch date | Launched 27 November 2011, 09.10 UTC |
Technical information
| Rocket type | VSB 30 rocket |
| Nominal diameter | 557 mm |
| Total weight | 1265 kg |
| Apogee | ~268 km |
Experiment modules
| Module | Experiment Title | Experimenter | Remark |
| TEM LH2 PMD | Validation of the LH2 PMD concept in the frame of the CUST project | Dr. P. Behruzi, Astrium | New development |
| TEM LOX PMD | Validation of the LOX PMD concept in the frame of the CUST project | Dr. P. Behruzi, Astrium | New development |
| TEM 06-31 | Behavioral observation and calcium biomineralization of fish otoliths in microgravity | Prof. R. Hilbig, Universität Hohenheim | Adaption from TEXUS 45 |
Contact persons
Mr. Mikael Töyrä, Project manager, SSC
Mr. Andreas Schütte, Project manager, EADS-Space Transportation
Dr. Otfried Joop, Project Manager, DLR
