Microgravity, ionosphere and cosmic-ray experiments were flown successfully in the 2025 scientific sounding rocket campaign.
Gökbilge's SR-8 sounding rocket carried experiments from 11 universities to 120 kilometres in its 2025 scientific campaign. The campaign was held at the coastal test range in Sinop; launch took place at 07:12 in the morning and the payload bay was recovered from the sea by parachute 19 minutes later.
Flight data
The rocket, with its 28 kN hybrid motor, reached a maximum altitude of 121.4 km. The microgravity duration was measured as 187 seconds. The payload bay carried the 35 kg experiment load without problem and was undamaged on landing.
Experiments
- Cell culture and protein crystal growth experiments from two universities
- Two sensors measuring ionospheric plasma density
- A cosmic-ray particle counter
- Space-environment verification of CubeSat subsystems (reaction wheel, solar panel)
- Combustion and fluid behaviour experiments in microgravity
Students and academics
Seventy-four students and 31 academics took part in the campaign. Experiment payloads were integrated by Gökbilge engineers in the five-day integration week. Students joined training on payload preparation, environmental tests and telemetry monitoring.
Results
After the campaign nine scientific papers were published and three experiments were carried to the 2027 campaign in extended form. In the protein crystallisation experiment in microgravity, a crystal structure 22% more ordered than ground samples was observed.
Safety and environment
Before launch the airspace and sea area were closed in coordination with the relevant authorities. Combustion products and noise were measured; the site was cleaned after recovery.
2027 campaign
Experiments from 14 universities will be flown in the second campaign; applications open next month. The campaign also aims to train engineers in rockets and satellites.
Notes from integration week
In integration week every experiment was checked for mass, centre of gravity, vibration and electrical interface. Two experiments were redesigned after a low-frequency resonance in vibration testing. This process taught students the real constraints of flight-ready experiment design.
Outreach and education
The campaign was watched live by 48,000 people. After the launch, 600 high-school students joined rocket and satellite workshops at the test site. For the 2027 campaign a separate payload bay will be reserved for high-school teams.