United space in Europe
Maxus sounding-rocket launch
Enabling & Support

Maxus sounding-rocket launch

29/04/2001 1001 views 8 likes 196800 ID
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ESA’s Maxus 4 sub-orbital microgravity mission launch took place on the 29 April 2001 from ESRANGE, near Kiruna in northern Sweden.
During the last two years, scientists from five European countries have been working together with the engineering teams from Astrium GmbH and the Swedish Space Corporation in preparation for the Maxus 4 mission, which is funded by the European Space Agency.
The Maxus 4 flight will provide weightlessness to the experiments for the duration of about 12.5 minutes. On its flight, the payload will reach an apogee of 710km. On the down-leg, at an altitude of 6km the main parachute will be deployed to ensure the safe landing of the Maxus 4 payload at a distance of about 80km down-range. It will then be brought back by helicopter, normally within one hour after impact. The scientific payload weighing 490kg is housed in five autonomous experiment modules, each having access to telemetry, telecommand and video services.

  • ESA/ESRANGE/Lars Thulin
  • Space Transportation
  • Launchers and space vehicles Sounding rockets
Maxus 4 ready for launch
Science & Exploration

Maxus 4 ready for launch

Image 999 views 7 likes
Enabling & Support

MAXUS 4: ESA's Most Powerful Sounding Rocket

Video 00:05:12 1203 views 2 likes
Enabling & Support

MAXUS 4: Falling to Earth at 700km/h

Video 00:06:51 536 views 3 likes
Science & Exploration

MAXUS 5/ Version ESA

Video 00:09:24 769 views 1 likes
Esrange tracking antenna
Science & Exploration

Esrange tracking antenna

Image 845 views 8 likes