Student-Led GHOST Rocket Reaches 268 Kilometers Over Norway

The GHOST (Grand cHallenge MesOsphere Student rockeT) mission successfully launched from the Andøya Spaceport in Norway on October 18, 2025, achieving a significant milestone in international academic rocketry. This complex sounding rocket flight represented the culmination of cooperation among student teams from the United States, Puerto Rico, and Norway.

The primary scientific objective of the flight was to gather critical data from the mesosphere and the uppermost regions of the Earth's thermosphere, atmospheric layers essential for understanding global climate dynamics. The GHOST vehicle utilized a two-stage Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket platform. The rocket ascended to an apogee of 268 kilometers, placing its payload well beyond the Kármán line, the conventional boundary set at 100 kilometers marking the separation between the atmosphere and outer space.

This altitude provided the scientific instruments onboard with several minutes of true microgravity conditions necessary for precise measurements. The student-designed experimental package incorporated sensors to record localized electric and magnetic field variations, alongside instruments analyzing the molecular and atomic composition of the atmosphere during the ascent and descent profiles. This research is formally integrated into the broader Grand Challenge Initiative II (GCI II) program, which coordinates joint investigations of complex geophysical processes across eight participating nations.

Andøya Spaceport, the launch site, serves as a key European facility supporting scientific and commercial suborbital and orbital launches, providing infrastructure for high-altitude atmospheric studies. The mesosphere and lower thermosphere are areas of intense scientific interest because processes occurring there, such as noctilucent cloud formation and ionospheric interactions, directly influence terrestrial weather patterns and communication systems. The data collected by the GHOST team will contribute to models predicting atmospheric responses to solar activity and long-term climate shifts.

The successful execution of the GHOST mission highlights a trend where student-led projects transition into genuine contributors to scientific discovery, often driving innovation in payload miniaturization and rapid prototyping within constrained timelines. Furthermore, the project’s multinational collaboration demonstrates how international partnership can effectively address complex scientific challenges and accelerate the development of novel technologies for near-space exploration.