TEXUS is a European/German sounding rocket programme, serving the microgravity programmes of ESA and DLR. The launches are conducted from Esrange in Sweden.
The first mission was conducted on 13 December 1977, using a British Skylark rocket. All missions up to TEXUS-41 in 2004 were conducted using Skylark rockets. Following the Skylark's retirement in 2005, TEXUS launches switched to the Brazilian VSB-30 rocket.
Texus Missions
edit| Mission | Date | Launch site | Motor | Apogee | Payload | Modules | Comments | Reference Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texus 34 | 1996 Mar 2 | Esrange | Skylark 7 | 232 km | 392 kg | 4/DLR | Esrange EUK112-9613 | |
| Texus 35 | 1996 Nov 24 | Esrange | Skylark 7 | 267 km | 331 kg | 4/(DLR+ESA) | Esrange EUK114-9704 | |
| Texus 36 | 1998 Feb 7 | Esrange | Skylark 7 | 238 km | ||||
| Texus 37 | 2000 Mar 27 | Esrange | Skylark 7 | 245 km | 369 kg | Esrange EUK130-E2 | ||
| Texus 38 | 2000 Apr 2 | Esrange | Skylark 7 | 250 km | 369 kg | Parachute failed; Science OK | Esrange EUK130-E2 | |
| Texus 39 | 2001 May 8 | Esrange | Skylark 7 | 248 km | 362 kg | 4/DLR | Esrange EUK148-E11 | |
| Texus 40 | 2003 Apr 8 | Esrange | Skylark 7 | 246 km | 364 kg | 4/DLR | Esrange EUK154-E19 | |
| Texus 41 | 2004 Dec 2 | Esrange | Skylark 7 | 230 km | 402 kg | 4/DLR | Esrange EUK163-E21 | |
| Texus 42 | 2005 Dec 1 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 263 km | 372 kg | 1/DLR, 1/ESA | ||
| Texus 43 | 2006 May 11 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 237 km | 407 kg | 3/ESA | Esrange EUK170-E19 | |
| Texus 44 | 2008 Feb 7 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 264 km | 373 kg | 3/ESA | Esrange EUK173-E42 | |
| Texus 45 | 2008 Feb 21 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 264 km | 357 kg | 2/DLR, 1/ESA | Esrange EUK174-E17 | |
| Texus 46 | 2009 Nov 22 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 252 km | 392.9 kg | 1/ESA+DLR, 1/ESA+JAXA | ||
| Texus 47 | 2009 Nov 29 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 263.6 km | 373.5 kg | 4 | ||
| Texus 48 | 2011 Nov 30 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 263 km | Test of propellant handling[1] | |||
| Texus 49 | 2011 Mar 29 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 268 km | kg | [2] | ||
| Texus 50 | 2013 Apr 12 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 261 km | kg | [3] | ||
| Texus 51 | 2015 Apr 23 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 259 km | kg | [4] | ||
| Texus 52 | 2015 Apr 27 | Esrange | VSB-30 | km | kg | [5] | ||
| Texus 53 | 2016 Jan 23 | Esrange | VSB-30 | km | kg | [6] | ||
| Texus 54 | 2018 May 13 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 239 km | kg | [7] | ||
| Texus 55 | 2018 May 31 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 255 km | kg | [7] | ||
| Texus 56 | 2019 Nov 15 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 265 km | 386 kg | 3 (2x ESA, 1x DLR) | ||
| Texus 57 | 2022 Oct 01 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 240 km | 4 (3x DLR, 1x ESA) | |||
| Texus 58 | 2023 Apr 24 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 250 km | 387.4 kg | 3 (3x ESA) | Landed in Norway | |
| Texus 59 | 2024 Feb 15 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 264.5 km | 388 kg | 3 (2x ESA, 1x DLR) | ||
| Texus 60 | 2024 Mar 24 | Esrange | VSB-30 | 251.7 km | 408 kg | 3 (2x ESA, 1x JAXA) |
MiniTexus Missions
edit| Mission | Date | Launch site | Motor | Apogee | Payload | Modules | Comments | Reference Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiniTexus 1 | 1993 Nov 29 | Esrange | Nike Orion | |||||
| MiniTexus 2 | 1994 May 3 | Esrange | Nike Orion | |||||
| MiniTexus 3 | 1995 May 2 | Esrange | Nike Orion | 125 km | 200 kg | 1/DLR | Successful | Esrange EUK109-66 |
| MiniTexus 4 | 1995 Apr 29 | Esrange | Nike Orion | 148 km | 162 kg | 2/DLR | Successful | Esrange EUK109-66 |
| MiniTexus 5 | 1998 Feb 11 | Esrange | Nike Orion | |||||
| MiniTexus 6 | 1998 Dec 3 | Esrange | Nike Orion |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Europe prepares new technologies for future launchers". SpaceDaily. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- ^ "DLR - Space Administration - TEXUS 49 lifts off with four German experiments on board". www.dlr.de.
- ^ DLR. "DLR Portal". DLR Portal.
- ^ DLR. "DLR Portal". DLR Portal.
- ^ "TEXUS 51/52". 29 August 2013.
- ^ "Blog". www.grimm-space-research.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ a b "TEXUS 54/55 successfully launched from Esrange Space Center". 31 May 2018.
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