TEXUS-59 Science Mission Successfully Launched from Esrange angielski

The joint DLR/ESA TEXUS-59 suborbital science mission was successfully launched on 15 February from Esrange Space Center in Sweden.

TEXUS-59 was launched at 14:42 UTC aboard a two-stage Brazilian VSB-30 sounding rocket. The rocket reached a maximum apogee of 264.5 kilometres before returning back to Earth. It was then recovered, allowing researchers to examine the results of three experiments. The flight lasted for approximately 15 minutes with around six minutes of weightlessness.

The 13-metre tall rocket carried two experiments for the European Space Agency and one for the German Space Agency DLR. The SaFari experiment studied the crystallization of liquid silicon under microgravity, which will enable researchers to work toward improving the performance of solar cells.