Gebr. Weiss is Logistics Partner for Rocket Mission in Sweden

The international transport company Gebrüder Weiss is the official logistics partner for the SubOrbital Express rocket mission of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) and is transporting twelve scientific experiments to Kiruna in northern Sweden. From November 14 to 24, the SSC will conduct the mission “SubOrbital Express 3 (S1X-3M15)” at the Esrange rocket base near Kiruna, where the experiments will be flown into space and their behavior in microgravity will be studied.

The goal is to gain insights for research and the work of astronauts in space. “As the Swedish Space Corporation, we enable space research for international universities, research teams, and start-ups. Many of the experiments have direct implications for science and can thus influence the entire world,” says Stefan Krämer, Program Manager for SubOrbital Express at the Swedish Space Corporation. Logistics also plays an important role in the execution of the project: “It is crucial that the equipment is delivered to the rocket base on time and, above all, safely. With Gebrüder Weiss, we rely on a logistics partner we can trust,” says Krämer.

Frank Haas, Head of Corporate Brand Strategy & Communications at Gebrüder Weiss: “We support the Swedish Space Corporation with our logistics expertise and aim to contribute to the advancement of space travel. Forward-looking mobility projects like the rocket mission play a central role for Gebrüder Weiss.” Last year, Gebrüder Weiss demonstrated its logistics experience during the simulation of an astronautical Mars mission in Israel.

Research Teams from Various Countries Involved

Do clocks withstand the accelerations and vibrations of a rocket launch? How can the health of astronauts in space be better monitored? How do cells in the body behave when gravity is removed? These and other tests in microgravity, originating from research teams in Australia, Costa Rica, Portugal, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Sweden, are the focus of the 15th rocket mission of the SSC.

Transport from Solna to Kiruna

Gebrüder Weiss organizes the transport of the experiments from the SSC headquarters in Solna near Stockholm to Kiruna, located 1,200 kilometers away in northern Sweden. On November 22, the experiments will be sent into space from the Esrange rocket base. Due to the parabolic flight path, there will be six minutes of microgravity. The experiments will then land in an uninhabited area north of Esrange. From there, they will be transported back to the base by helicopter and subsequently evaluated by the researchers.

Photo: © What The Film / Image Caption: Involved in the project: (l. to r.): Marcel Giger (Operations Manager, Fortis), Andreas Bentele (Marketing Manager, Fortis), Stefan Krämer (Program Manager, SubOrbital Express, SSC), Jupp Philipp (Owner and Managing Director, Fortis), Oscar Löfgren (Mechanical Engineer, SSC), Christos Tolis (Systems Engineer, SSC)