Meteomatics' Weather Data: Aiding Swiss Aerospace Engineers in Rocket Launch and Recovery

The Swiss Academic Space Initiative (ARIS), an educational association founded by students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH-Zurich) in 2017, is training future engineers and project managers for the growing aerospace market. The association, which now includes students from six different Swiss universities, aims to place a small-scale satellite in orbit using an in-house developed bi-liquid launcher within the next decade. To achieve this, ARIS needs to conduct in-orbit experiments and research, and regularly participate in international competitions with other aerospace engineering student organizations. However, the launch and recovery of spacecraft are significantly affected by Earth's weather conditions, including temperature, wind speed and direction, rain, hail, lightning, cloud cover, and electric fields. ARIS needed accurate weather data to conduct flight simulations, assess initial conditions in the launch area, and estimate the rocket's highest height, landing location, and the danger zone for people on the ground.

The Swiss Academic Space Initiative (ARIS) is an educational association of around 400 students from ETH-Zurich, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, the University of Zurich, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the Zurich University of the Arts and the University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil. The students voluntarily work together to develop aerospace technology in the area of launch vehicles, recovery systems, satellites, and other space-related technology. They participate in international student competitions and aim to place a small-scale satellite in orbit using an in-house developed bi-liquid launcher within the next decade.