The History of Sounding Rockets and Their Contribution to ... - ESA

Similar technology transfers and commonalities of scientifi c objectives featured later on in the 1980s and
1990s in the microgravity research fi eld. The techniques and research facilities developed for sounding
rockets - such as furnaces for metallurgy and solidifi cation studies, semiconductor crystallisation, fl uidphysics
modules, facilities for critical point research, combustion modules, liquid-bridge confi gurations for
convection studies in microgravity, facilities for investigation of the gravity perception of plant cells and
unicellular organisms - were fi rst developed for sounding rockets and afterwards transformed or adapted for
use in facilities for conducting similar research on the Shuttle/Spacelab.
In addition, sounding rockets serve to this day as the main carrier for precursor experiments for the International
Space Station (ISS) and for instrument verifi cation, qualifi cation and calibration prior to deploying
such experiment facilities and instruments for long-duration research onboard the ISS.
Another very important scientifi c aspect in the space life and physical sciences is the demonstration of the
relevance of microgravity to certain proposed experiments on sounding rockets prior to fi nal ISS experiment
selection. Experience has shown that existing theories used to predict results and behaviours are often incorrect
and need to be adapted or even replaced.
Taking into account these scientifi c and technical aspects, it can be stated that sounding-rocket programmes
have proved to be a very useful workhorse for many areas of the physical and biological sciences, with the
exception of human physiology and medical research.
European industry very soon recognised the learning potential and importance of sounding-rocket payload
development, assembly, integration and testing for subsequent satellite projects. At the start of the ESRO
(also the CNES and DLR) sounding-rocket programme, this type of work was done in-house. However,
after a few years, about 70% of the development work had already been delegated to industrial contractors
such as, in ESRO’s case, BAe, Dornier, CASA, Sud Aviation and Saab Ericsson, i.e. to companies that are
still to this day (themselves or their successors) active in the space business.
Of course, following the early days of European space activities using sounding rockets and small satellites,
technological methods/innovations such as component soldering, onboard recorders, and data archiving on
microfi che were later replaced by integrated circuits, solid-state memory with large storage capabilities,
computer-aided circuit design and archives accessible via the Internet.
Despite all of this technological progress, sounding-rocket experimentation never became obsolete, either
when small scientifi c satellites started to be launched in large numbers in the late 1960s to early 1970s, or
today when we are ready to perform research on and from the ISS. Sounding rockets are still used to test
ideas, instruments and scientifi c theories prior to eventual use/application on satellites. The much lower
costs, shorter lead-times and actual execution times of sounding-rocket experiments, the learning potential
for young scientists, etc. are and will remain major advantages compared with experimentation on conventional
satellites or in space laboratories.
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