Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
SpaceForest’s Perun suborbital rocket took to the skies on 21 June 2023 from the Air Force Training Centre in Ustka, Poland, on the Baltic Sea and reached an altitude of 22 km.
Based in Poland, SpaceForest is developing a commercial single-stage sounding rocket offering almost four minutes of microgravity experimentation time. The 11.5-m tall rocket will be able to launch 50 kg up to 150 km in altitude while also stabilising the payload for high-quality microgravity periods of flight.
Perun, named after the god of the sky in Slavic mythology, is a single-stage guided suborbital launch vehicle powered by a hybrid rocket engine that runs on modified paraffin, commonly used as candle wax, and so its propellant is non-toxic. The rocket can be launched on a mobile launchpad, allowing for easy deployment at launch facilities around Europe.
The Perun launch service is offered to commercial and institutional customers to access the microgravity environment for experiments. The service is geared to provide easy access to payloads right up to an hour before launch, which is useful for last-minute tweaks, preparing biological samples or charging batteries for example.
To support the further service development and deployment, ESA is supporting activities with co-funding of €2.4 million. With its Boost! programme, ESA is boosting commercial initiatives that offer transportation services to space, in space, and returning from space. The programme also supports Member States implementing national objectives for spaceports, testing facilities and more.
More information about Perun rocket system can be found at: https://spaceforest.pl/perun/
Credits: SpaceForest/ESA
#Perun #SpaceForest #ESA
SpaceForest’s Perun suborbital rocket took to the skies on 21 June 2023 from the Air Force Training Centre in Ustka, Poland, on the Baltic Sea and reached an altitude of 22 km.
Based in Poland, SpaceForest is developing a commercial single-stage sounding rocket offering almost four minutes of microgravity experimentation time. The 11.5-m tall rocket will be able to launch 50 kg up to 150 km in altitude while also stabilising the payload for high-quality microgravity periods of flight.
Perun, named after the god of the sky in Slavic mythology, is a single-stage guided suborbital launch vehicle powered by a hybrid rocket engine that runs on modified paraffin, commonly used as candle wax, and so its propellant is non-toxic. The rocket can be launched on a mobile launchpad, allowing for easy deployment at launch facilities around Europe.
The Perun launch service is offered to commercial and institutional customers to access the microgravity environment for experiments. The service is geared to provide easy access to payloads right up to an hour before launch, which is useful for last-minute tweaks, preparing biological samples or charging batteries for example.
To support the further service development and deployment, ESA is supporting activities with co-funding of €2.4 million. With its Boost! programme, ESA is boosting commercial initiatives that offer transportation services to space, in space, and returning from space. The programme also supports Member States implementing national objectives for spaceports, testing facilities and more.
More information about Perun rocket system can be found at: https://spaceforest.pl/perun/
Credits: SpaceForest/ESA
#Perun #SpaceForest #ESA
![The Sun: Super Active 2024 [Hinode/XRT]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FoS_oKMZDaU/mqdefault.jpg "The Sun: Super Active 2024 [Hinode/XRT]
As we approach solar maximum, the Sun is reaching new levels of activity for Solar Cycle 25. The Sunspot number has consistently exceeded predictions of the cycle with 2024 especially being way above what was predicted. That means we have been consistently seeing large numbers of active regions across the disk throughout the entire year. While this doesnt always mean large flares all the time, we have had periods (such as early May) where the Sun has produced some major flares. The last few months of 2024 are shaping up to continue this trend and we hope to continue to capture exciting solar data with XRT.
Hinode is a Japanese mission developed and launched by ISAS/JAXA, with NAOJ as domestic partner and NASA and STFC (UK) as international partners. It is operated by these agencies in co-operation with ESA and the NSC (Norway). The XRT instrument team is comprised of SAO, NASA, JAXA, and NAOJ.
Credit: SAO/NASA/JAXA/NAOJ
#Sun #Hinode #JAXA")
