Sounding Rockets within Swedish National Balloon and Rocket Programme- Providing Access to Space from Esrange

Initiated in 2012 by the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB), a new programme dedicated for Swedish scientists to gain access to space using balloons and sounding rockets was started. This programme promotes the possibility to ensure continuity in both the science and the technology used. The sounding rocket part of this national programme started with three possible missions. SPIDER (Small Payloads for Investigation of Disturbances in Electrojet by Rockets) from the Space and Plasma physics department of KTH, O-STATES (Oxygen Species and Thermospheric Airglow in The Earth's Sky) from the Department of Meteorology Stockholm University (MISU) and LEEWAVES (Local Excitation and Effects of Waves on Atmospheric VErtical Structure) that is collaboration between KTH and MISU. These three missions were planned for launches in 2015 and 2016. SSC has been contracted on a launch ticket basis to provide the launch and service to the scientific instrumentation. This paper presents the SPIDER, O-STATES and LEEWAVES missions focussing on a mission related technical solutions perspective. 1. SOUNDING ROCKET MISSIONS The Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) issued a call for ideas for rocket and balloon missions within the new programme and initially two rocket missions were chosen and funded: SPIDER, Small Payloads for Investigation of Disturbances in Electrojet by Rockets O-STATES, Oxygen Species and Thermospheric Airglow in The Earth's Sky Additionally a third mission was chosen: LEEWAVES, Local Excitation and Effects of Waves on Atmospheric VErtical Structure 1.1. O-STATES mission O-STATES (Oxygen Species and Thermospheric Airglow in The Earth's Sky) is a mission with Professor Jörg Gumbel from the Department of Meteorology at Stockholm University (MISU) as principal investigator. The scientific goal is to perform analysis of O2 atmospheric band airglow to characterize remote sensing techniques. These techniques can for instance be used for weather predictions. This analysis will be done by in-situ measurements in the thermosphere between 80 and 240 km with two launches into opposite conditions. The same payload will be refurbished and reflown during one single launch campaign. SSC is contracted for the project and MISU and partners are providing the instrumentation. The payload instrumentation consists of photometers and optical oxygen probes from Department of Metrology at Stockholm University (MISU), FIPEX electrical oxygen sensors from Institute of Space Systems at Stuttgart University (IRS) and from the Technical University Graz (TUG) ion-, electron probes and a faraday antenna system. All instrumentation except the side looking oxygen probes are forward looking and covered by the nose cone during lift-off. The nose cone is then jettisoned to expose the instrumentation while hatches are released to expose the side looking instruments. 1.2. O-STATES 14-inch payload Figure 1, Payload configuration ! " # $%& ' (&) * +$,( (&).