The launch of a Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket to test a new ampoule ejection system for supporting studies of the ionosphere and aurora is scheduled for June 12 between 9:04 and 9:19 p.m. EDT from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.
The launch was postponed during an attempt June 11 due to boats in the launch range hazard area.
The multi-canister ampoule ejection system flying on this mission will allow scientists to gather information over a much larger area than previously able.
Canisters will deploy between 4 and 5.5 minutes after launch releasing blue-green and red vapor to form artificial clouds. These clouds, or vapor tracers, allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space. The clouds may be visible along the mid-Atlantic coastline from New York to North Carolina.
The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will open at 8 p.m. on launch day for viewing the flight.
Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. on the Wallops Ustream site. A Facebook live is also planned beginning at 8:50 p.m. on www.facebook.com/NASAWFF. Launch updates also are available via the Wallops Facebook and Twitter sites.
Original Story: The early morning skies along the mid-Atlantic coast will light up with luminescent clouds as NASA tests a new system that supports science studies of the ionosphere and aurora with a sounding rocket launch May 31 from the Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern shore of Virginia. Backup launch days are June 1 through 6.
During the flight of a two-stage Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket between 4:25 and 4:42 a.m. EDT, 10 canisters about the size of a soft drink can will be deployed in the air, 6 to 12 miles away from the 670-pound main payload.
The canisters will deploy between 4 and 5.5 minutes after launch forming blue-green and red artificial clouds. These clouds, or vapor tracers, allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space.
The development of the multi-canister ampoule ejection system will allow scientists to gather information over a much larger area than previously allowed when deploying the tracers just from the main payload.
Ground cameras will be stationed at Wallops and in Duck, North Carolina, to view the vapor tracers. Clear skies are required at one of the two ground stations for this test.
The vapor tracers are formed through the interaction of barium, strontium and cupric-oxide. The tracers will be released at altitudes 96 to 124 miles high and pose no hazard to residents along the mid-Atlantic coast.
The vapor tracers may be visible from New York to North Carolina and westward to Charlottesville, Virginia.
The total flight time for the mission is expected to be about 8 minutes. The payload will land in the Atlantic Ocean about 90 miles from Wallops Island and will not be recovered.
The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will open at 3:30 a.m. on launch day for viewing the flight.
Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 3:45 a.m. on the Wallops Ustream site. Launch updates also are available via the Wallops Facebook and Twitter sites.
Smartphone users can download the "What's Up at Wallops" app, which contains information on the launch as well as a compass showing the precise direction for launch viewing.
More information on the NASA sounding rocket missions and the use of vapor tracers in science research is available at:
NASA's Sounding Rocket Program is conducted at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility. Orbital ATK provides mission planning, engineering services and field operations through the NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract. NASA's Heliophysics Division manages the sounding rocket program for the agency.
Keith Koehler
Office of Communications
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia
keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov
757-824-1579
