Extended deadline, ELGRA goes Suborbital! Call for proposals

Dear ELGRA members,

Due to the response frequency and the present world situation we have extended the dead line for the submission of proposals until 1 June 2020. We hope this will give you a better chance to put together interesting experiment proposals. This will also result in a shorter time period for development of the experiment until the scheduled launch in 15  February 2021. We still hope this is feasible but if this schedule will change (delayed launch) we will update you on any changes as soon as possible.
See the original announcement below.Best wishes,

The ELGRA Management Committee

Dear ELGRA member,

ELGRA offers an opportunity to house your experiment onboard one of the Swedish Space Corporation’s (SSC) sounding rockets by submitting a proposal to the ELGRA goes suborbital! call.

The SSC SubOrbital Express mission to be launched from Esrange, in the northernmost part of Sweden, offers 6 minutes of high-quality microgravity for your experiment. The facilities at the location allows for preparation and flying of your experiment after acceptance tests performed at the SSC premises in Solna, Stockholm. The restrictions on the experiment are very few. In general, what is seen as safe in the lab can normally be flown on the rocket.

To be eligible to submit a proposal, the team leader (main applicant) must be a regular ELGRA member. 
Applications with multiple ELGRA members are considered an advantage. The application should have a maximum of 10 pages and include:

– Name and affiliation of team members.
– Short CV of the team leader (max 1 page).
– Scientific objectives of the experiment.
– Description of the experimental setup and procedure.

The best proposal among the received ones will be selected for the suborbital flight. The two main selection criteria will be the science case and the feasibility to perform the experiment within the given constraints. Therefore, the description and motivation of performing the experiment in microgravity within 6 minutes and a technical description how the experiment is foreseen to be performed are important.

The selected proposal will benefit of:

– One suborbital flight of the experiment according to the flight specifications (see below).
– Free accommodation and meals in Kiruna for one team member during the campaign.

ELGRA can consider to fund travel costs for one team member provided it is justified in the application.

Flight specifications:

Envelop: 100x100x200 mm (including box/structure, to be provided by user)
Mass:  < 1 kg
Microgravity time: 6 minutes
Microgravity levels: 1×10-6 g
Power: 28 V, 1 A
Communication link during flight: yes
Lab: Access to lab for experiment preparation at Esrange, granted on lab availability basis 

Schedule:

13 March 2020: Deadline for submitting proposals to communication@elgra.org
10 April 2020: Announcement of selected proposal
2 months before launch: delivery of experiment to SSC (Solna) for acceptance tests
1 week before launch: start of launch campaign at Esrange
2 hours after launch: delivery of experiment to user
15 February 2021: Launch date

Submit your proposal and have the chance to take your research to space and back experiencing microgravity!

Best wishes,

The ELGRA Management Committee