September 2024 – BEXUS Projects of Kiel University

2024-09-302024-11-16

CHAOS in Esrange

On friday the first members of team CHAOS arrived at Esrange Space Center. After getting security badges and a light dinner, everyone went to sleep excited for the first day!

Many tests were planned for the weekend which required us to mount CHAOS to the gondola and test the E-Link system with which we shall communicate during flight. CHAOS passed all individual tests with flying colors which meant we had some free time on sunday morning to go dor a short hike with the whole team.

We are now excited to see the results of todays interference test where the compatibility of all experiments on the gondola running at the same time is checked.

First meterological reports show a possible launch window on wednesday with ground winds at 1 m/s SW and higher altitude winds at 5 m/s SW.

2024-09-262024-11-16

CHAOS on TV!

On thursday we were visited in the university by a team by the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) who were filming a segment for the news “SH-Magazin”. We were excited to share insights into our project and explain about cosmic rays and how we will measure them.

The segment aired yesterday on NDR – you can watch it via Wenn Sterne sterben: Kieler Studenten messen Supernova-Strahlung | NDR.de – Nachrichten – Schleswig-Holstein

2024-09-17

CHAOS – Press Release!

Check out the press release on the offical website of Kiel University covering the upcoming launch campaign in Kiruna, Sweden:
https://www.uni-kiel.de/de/detailansicht/news/147-bexus-wetterballon

2024-09-102024-11-17

EAR passed!

Last week a few of our group went to Bremen, Germany, to complete the last milestone before the Launch Campaign – the Experiment Acceptance Rewiev and the Thermal Vacuum Test at ZARM. We arrived on Sunday evening and set up our experiment first thing Monday morning in the thermal vacuum chamber.

We then ran a temperature and pressure profile similar to what we expect during the flight: the pressure went down to 10 mbar and the inside of the chamber was cooled to -50°C. Our experiment measured reliably throughout. We were also able to test our insulation for the first time.

The flight software worked as well, it shuts off the high voltage when the balloon descends and pressure rises above 800 mbar.

At ZARM in Bremen, they have a large drop tower that allows for experiments in microgravity. Interestingly, a colleague who completed his diploma at the university of Kiel some years ago, was there as well, and we were able to see their experiment in microgravity.

Since there were no complications during our test, we had some time to explore Bremen on Monday. On Tuesday, we had the Experiment Acceptance Review (EAR), the final review before the flight, during which our experiment was officially approved. It is now being shipped from ZARM to Kiruna.