Month: October 2025

On day eight there was supposed to be the launch of BX36, unfortunately the launch was unsuccessful. Condolences to all the BX36 teams!!! Despite these circumstances all teams took it easy.

On day nine we had our post flight review scheduled, where we presented our data and SSC recaped both launches.

In the evening we were invited to the campaign dinner. There we were handed over our certificates and had a great dinner with all teams and SSC staff. Then the campaign party started with the prepared sketches: presentations, dances, and even some calculating. (Thanks to Moritz and Pauline for preparing our sketch and let the other empirically proof the gravitational constant g)

During the last sketch we got the aurora alert and ran outside. This was by far the most beautiful sky we have seen. It was a clear sky and perfect for watching auroras!

The last day was a resting day, though we went on one last hike. The weather was perfect and we witnessed a great sunset.

We thought the day was over and were fully ready to pack and go to bed, but then we received the Aurora alert and had one last chance of seeing Auroras!!! We were lucky enough to experience this multiple times and were utterly thankful for this.

Now that the campaign is over, and there is only one last SED version left, I want to leave some thoughts, that may speak for the whole team:

In recent months, we have not only learned an incredible amount scientifically, but above all also humanly. This project has shown us that research is much more than numbers, data, measurements and experiments. It is also about team spirit, trust and the knowledge that each individual contributes an important part to the whole. We mastered challenges whether they were broken CAD-designs or delayed trains to reviews or retrieving SETH junior in the Elbe. Some of us worked through nights and the most important part: motivating each other when things became difficult. Every idea, every helping hand, every little detail has made this project what is today.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this adventure with us – to our team, our supervisors, and sponsors. You have all contributed to the fact that this project has become not only a scientific success, but also an unforgettable experience.

Until then, I wish everyone the best!!!

This day was recovery day, not only for our experiment but also for us team members. After celebrating the successful launch this was necessary. Shortly before dinner we got the information that our gondola will arrive after dinner.

Two of our team members, Milan and Pauline, were allowed near the gondola to unscrew the experiment from. The gondola looked good and we had no major damages, except for a small hole in the box, but luckily it did not touch anything.

We discussed wether we should retrieve the SD-card and read it right away or wait for the experiment to arrive in Kiel in two weeks. In the end the compromise was to take the SD-card out the next day, wrap it up properly and take it with us to Kiel. That way we do not risk to format the card accidentally and at the same time we do not have to wait until the experiment is shipped to Kiel.

Later that evening we caught a glimpse of the polar lights. Unfortunately they were not visible to the naked eye, but with the right settings on out cameras we took great pictures.

On this day it was time to launch!!! At 11:30 local time we met for the FRR (Flight Readiness Review) where our team lead signed the flight ticket, attested that our experiment is running nominally, and allowed SSC to start launch procedure.

Before the FRR we went on a walk to the visitor centre. Just to clear out our heads and get enough fresh air. The visitor centre was a small exhibition with some information on satellites, rockets and balloons.

At 12:45 LT, right after lunch, we met with all teams at our groundstations, set everything up and waited for the countdown to start. At 11:00 UTC the countdown finally started and launch procedures took their way. For our experiment it was important to warm up long enough so we do not get too cold during flight. At 14:00 LT (T-2:30h) the gondola was mounted to HERCULES and brought on to the balloonpad, where we took the campaign photo with all teams (BEXUS 36 teams included).

We followed the livestream inside, since we weren’t allowed outside. Our experiment was still warming up on external power. The nominal launch was 15:00 UTC, but the countdown was put on hold at T-1:00h. A team on the gondola had major problems, which delayed the launch for about two hours. At around 16:50 UTC the balloon finally got unfold and launch was only a heartbeat away. Right before the launch the door was opened and we could watch the start ourselves and not on the livestream, where it was not possible anymore to see anything due to darkness. The last few minutes started and the tension was really noticeable – everyone went quiet and waited for the balloon to properly build up and take the gondola up in the sky. It felt like everyone was holding their breaths until the balloon finally ascent into the sky.

During the first hour we had some problems: spotty e-link connection. Besides the connection problems we were able to see the Regener-Pfotzer-Maximum during ascent, which was one of our main objectives. Another half an our later we arrived at final altitude and began the floating phase. This was planned to be two hours long, but luckily the balloon was flying over some lakes and villages where it was not possible to cutoff. For us it was perfect, we wanted to fly as long as possible to gather as much data as possible. At three and a half hour floating time we got the information that power could not last long enough to stay on during descent. Luckily our dear friends from the danish team RATATOSK decided to turn of their experiment and shortly after, the other two teams SOBER and OSTRICH did the same. This meant our experiment will have enough power for the descent, however we monitored the voltage decrease closely to be sure we could start our shut-down sequence in time else we had the risk damage of the SD-card.

At around 23:00 UTC we got the information that it’ll be time to cut off at 23:30 UTC. We had the chance of watching the descent in our data since we were still receiving them. 40 minutes later, at 00:10 UTC, we finally lost connection at an altitude of 1.2 km. Everything went nominally, and we set the record of the longest BEXUS flight ever: T+6:48h

Even though it was already pretty late, we celebrated the successful launch with our gondola team members and some of the SSC staff. One thing needs to be mentioned at this point: all the time our team sat together at the groundstation, no one dropped out early to go to sleep or elsewhere – smells like teams spirit. THANK YOU TEAM SETH !!!

Today, Octobre 8th, is finally launch day. After working on SETH for about a year and getting the seal of approval the time has come. The three and a half hour countdown started at 11:00 a.m. UTC.

If you want to follow the launch, it is livestreamed on Youtube at around T-45. https://youtube.com/@swedishspace?si=sUGEhxdvk1eh4Itc

On day 3 we had our individual test planned for after the “Good Morning Meeting”. But first we had to integrate the experiment onto the gondola, and everything went as planned. We set up the groundstation and waited for the go!

At first we expected to see how the experiment boots up, but we did not, however with a look on the network we saw data coming in, so there was no need to worry. As we plotted, we explained to the observing SSC personnel what they see.

The first test within the test was an ethernet-drop-out-simulation, which we passed. Then we moved on to the power cycle, where power was turned off and turned on again. We noticed that the plotting script showed some unwanted behaviour: There is an incomplete interval and resulted in dividing by 0 in the plot – which of course is not possible. The team acted fast and solved this issue. We passed the individual test and the experiment stayed on the gondola. From then we had to wait for the other teams mounted on the same gondola.

We were free for the rest of the day, so Milan taught us how to play Skat and we enjoyed it!

On day 4 we had not done much, since we were waiting the whole day for the interference test. All experiments on the gondola were supposed to be running and tested for issues. In the meanwhile we went for a hike to the nearby lake but it turned out to be a more adventurous hike than planned, since it was more of a bog.

The interference test had not taken place, but we hope to do it on day 5!

Our second day at Esrange started with a delicious breakfast and our first “Good Morning Meeting”. During the meeting, we received all the important information about the schedule, safety rules, and the plan for the upcoming days. It was exciting to finally see each and every team together – although some where still missing members (At this point we were still missing Jasper).

After the meeting, we headed to the dome to unpack and inspect our experiment. Everything went smoothly – all components arrived in perfect condition, and the setup worked as expected. We started a measurement to see how warm our experiment gets. In the meanwhile the majority of our team went on a small hike to the river and spend the afternoon there by throwing pebbles and enjoying the view of north Sweden.

Coming back we prepared an overnight test to see how temperature and atmospheric pressure would affect the performance of our setup. To simulate cold conditions, we moved the experiment into a small room, opened the window to let in the outside air, and let it run overnight.

In the evening, we spent some time in the common kitchen – shared some stories, laughed and even danced some Tango Argentino. All in all we had great first day and are looking forward to the next days here in Esrange.

On Octobre 3rd the time had finally come. For six of us, the journey began at 2:45 a.m. with a bus from Kiel to Hamburg Airport. There we met another team member and Ava, who is working for ZARM and was in Kiruna last year with CHAOS. At 6:20 a.m. we took our first flight to Copenhagen, then took the next flight at 8:55 a.m. to Stockholm. There we were supposed to meet Jasper, who was starting from Berlin, but unfortunately his flight got cancelled due to suspicious drones above the airport in Munich he was supposed to fly to. At 11:45 a.m. we took our last flight for the day to KIRUNA!!! All in all the flights were super pleasant and some of us got some sleep we were missing.

Finally arrived in Kiruna a bus took us to the Space Centre in Esrange, where we got our badges and hotel room keys. After a quick check-in we met again to get a quick tour from Nicolas, who’s already been here last year with CHAOS. And lucky us, we spotted reindeers!

During our private tour we found instruments in a common room and Moritz and Milan played a private concert on the piano and guitar. Good way to spend time until dinner. For dinner we had delicious burgers and french fries. Because it was arrival day nothing else happened, we went to bed and recharged for our first proper day at Esrange.

Up to this point we were still missing Jasper. Luckily he caught a flight to Stockholm and took a night train to Kiruna!!