SOUNDING ROCKET AND BALLOON RESEARCH ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED BY THE GERMAN SPACE PROGRAMME 2009-2011

Mainly sounding rockets but also stratospheric balloons have played a crucial role in implementing the German Space Programme since many years. Main activities are conducted in Space Sciences, Microgravity Research, Earth Observation, and Technology Development. Additionally, rocket and balloon flights are used in the field of Education and Outreach by students of natural scientific and engineering subjects. The research focus in Space Science is the mesosphere and ionosphere of the Earth as well as the atmosphere of the sun. In Microgravity Research the disciplines of life and physical sciences benefit from medium-duration rocket experiments. In the Earth Observation field balloon-borne measurements are conducted to validate atmospheric sounding instruments on satellites and to study the chemistry of the stratosphere. Student activities are successfully continued under the auspices of the Swedish-German programme REXUS / BEXUS.