Maser is a sounding rocket

Sounding rocket

A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket, is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight. The origin of the term comes from nautical vocabulary, where to sound is to throw a weighted line from a ship into...

 that is used in the MASER microgravity research rocket programme, which is operated by the Swedish Space Corporation

Swedish Space Corporation

The Swedish Space Corporation is a comprehensive space company covering the entire field, from the definition of innovative business concepts and space projects to the development, tests and operation of the systems....

 (SSC). The main customer is the European Space Agency

European Space Agency

The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

 (ESA), and in particular its EMIR and ELIPS programmes.

The launches take place at Esrange

Esrange

Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...

 in Northern Sweden. The programme offers 6-7 minutes of microgravity and full recovery of the experiment modules with helicopter immediately after flight.

Missions

Mission	Date	Launch site	Motor	Apogee	Payload	Modules	Comments	Reference report
Maser 1	1987 Mar 19	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Black Brant Black Brant (rocket) The Black Brant is a Canadian-designed sounding rocket built by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over 800 Black Brants of various versions have been launched since they were first produced in 1961, and the type remains one of the most popular sounding rockets ever built...  9B	295 km
Maser 2	1988 Feb 29	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Black Brant Black Brant (rocket) The Black Brant is a Canadian-designed sounding rocket built by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over 800 Black Brants of various versions have been launched since they were first produced in 1961, and the type remains one of the most popular sounding rockets ever built...  9C	318 km
Maser 3	1989 Apr 10	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Black Brant Black Brant (rocket) The Black Brant is a Canadian-designed sounding rocket built by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over 800 Black Brants of various versions have been launched since they were first produced in 1961, and the type remains one of the most popular sounding rockets ever built...  9C	297 km
Maser 4	1990 Mar 29	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Black Brant Black Brant (rocket) The Black Brant is a Canadian-designed sounding rocket built by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over 800 Black Brants of various versions have been launched since they were first produced in 1961, and the type remains one of the most popular sounding rockets ever built...  9B	317 km
Maser 5	1992 Apr 9	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Black Brant Black Brant (rocket) The Black Brant is a Canadian-designed sounding rocket built by Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Over 800 Black Brants of various versions have been launched since they were first produced in 1961, and the type remains one of the most popular sounding rockets ever built...  9	309 km
Maser 6	1993 Nov 4	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Skylark Skylark (rocket) Skylark was a British sounding rocket design. The Skylark was first launched in 1957 from Woomera, Australia and its 441st and final launch took place from Esrange, Sweden on 2 May 2005...  7	243 km	372 kg	5/ESA		Esrange EKMA93-12
Maser 7	1996 May 3	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Skylark Skylark (rocket) Skylark was a British sounding rocket design. The Skylark was first launched in 1957 from Woomera, Australia and its 441st and final launch took place from Esrange, Sweden on 2 May 2005...  7	252 km	355 kg	4/ESA		Esrange EUK113-9616
Maser 8	1999 May 14	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Skylark Skylark (rocket) Skylark was a British sounding rocket design. The Skylark was first launched in 1957 from Woomera, Australia and its 441st and final launch took place from Esrange, Sweden on 2 May 2005...  7	260 km	334 kg	4/ESA		Esrange SUM8251-D18
Maser 9	2002 Mar 16	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Skylark Skylark (rocket) Skylark was a British sounding rocket design. The Skylark was first launched in 1957 from Woomera, Australia and its 441st and final launch took place from Esrange, Sweden on 2 May 2005...  7	258 km	347 kg	3/ESA		Esrange SUM92-S14
Maser 10	2005 May 2	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	Skylark Skylark (rocket) Skylark was a British sounding rocket design. The Skylark was first launched in 1957 from Woomera, Australia and its 441st and final launch took place from Esrange, Sweden on 2 May 2005...  7	252 km	350 kg	4/ESA	441st and final Skylark	Esrange SUM1025-S8
Maser 11	2008 May 15	Esrange Esrange Esrange Space Center is a rocket range and research centre located outside the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden. It is a base for scientific research with high altitude balloons, investigation of the aurora borealis, sounding rocket launches, and satellite tracking, among other things...	VSB-30 VSB-30 VSB-30 - "Veículo de Sondagem Booster – 30" is the designation of a Brazilian sounding rocket, which replaced the Skylark rocket at Esrange....	252 km	383 kg	5/ESA		Esrange EUK175-E60