600th Arctic rocket launch successfully conducted by DLR

600th Arctic rocket launch successfully conducted by DLR
by Robert Schreiber
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Nov 13, 2024

On November 11, 2024, at 07:38 UTC, the research rocket MAPHEUS 15 embarked on a milestone flight over Swedish Lapland, marking the 600th launch beyond the Arctic Circle. This mission, facilitated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and international partners, hosted 21 experiments focusing on material physics in zero gravity.

MAPHEUS 15 reached an unprecedented altitude of 309 kilometers, surpassing previous flights with an extended microgravity period of seven minutes. While terrestrial microgravity experiments typically provide only a few seconds of weightlessness, this mission's extended duration offered valuable research time.

This increased performance was achieved using an updated motor configuration combining the established 'Improved Malemute' upper stage and the innovative RED KITE booster, developed collaboratively by Bayern-Chemie and DLR.

Record Number of Onboard Experiments
"The mission includes numerous compact experiments, inspired by CubeSat designs with ten-centimeter dimensions," noted Thomas Voigtmann, MAPHEUS project manager at the DLR Institute of Materials Physics in Space. "We designed two special MOSAIC segments for these smaller setups, cutting development time and costs and allowing more experiments per launch."

Voigtmann also highlighted collaborations with Australian universities and Enable Aerospace. Additionally, the mission featured a smartwatch developed with Samsung, adesso, and LambSpace, aimed at testing its application for health monitoring in space.

Participating DLR institutes included Materials Physics in Space (MP), Materials Research (WF), Aerospace Medicine (ME), Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SO), and Space Operations and Astronaut Training.

Key Experiments on MAPHEUS 15:
- MOSAIC-A and B: Modules for CubeSat-style experiments; 16 can be loaded, 11 onboard for this mission.
- TEGonaut: Testing thermoelectric generators as power sources for sensors.
- RESITEK: GPS signal reflectometry for space weather studies.
- MARS 3D Printer: Examining material solidification in microgravity.
- COSMO: New data transfer technologies.
- DEIMOS-A and B: Electromagnetic field-driven powder transport for 3D printing.
- FORMAGGI: High-power thermal testing of plastics.
- SENSAITION: AI-driven real-time data collection.
- GASFEX: Demonstrating university-level access to space.
- Galaxy Watch Ultra: Health monitoring flight test.
- NyMEx: Reduced gravity effects on cell membrane transport.
- MiniWeed: Gravity's impact on duckweed for potential space food sources.
- MiniPlax: Gravity effects on multicellular organisms.
- Gastronaut-01: Gravitational research on cancer cells.
- REVTEX and VIBAQ: Vibration analysis of the RED KITE motor.
- SVALIN2: Evaluation of novel solar cell materials.