UPDATED: Two Wallops Launches set for Wednesday morning

 (Shore Daily News)

Wednesday, 8/15/23:

The first rocket went off as scheduled on time, but the second was scrubbed due to what NASA called “an anomaly” this morning at the Wallops Flight Facility.

According to NASA, the anomaly occurred with the RockSat-X sounding rocket launch, the first rocket which shot off at 6:21 AM. NASA Range, safety and Sounding Rocket experts are investigating the cause of the anomaly.

Backup launch days are Aug. 16 through 18. No new launch date for the second launch has been set.

The rockets carried experiments developed by more than 30 university and community college teams as part of NASA’s RockOn Workshop and RockSat programs. Fifty percent of the RockOn teams are from minority serving institutions.

(Shore Daily News)

WALLOPS TO LAUNCH DUAL SOUNDING ROCKETS WEDNESDAY

(View news story:)

Wallops to launch dual sounding rockets Wednesday - Shore Daily News

Rocket Launch Today

The launch from NASA Wallops  Flight Facility that was canceled from yesterday will take place today.

From Yesterday

Four NASA suborbital sounding rockets carrying experiments to take measurements in the ionosphere will be launched between July 5 and 23 (including weekends) from NASA’s Launch Range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The project is studying neutral and charged particles in the ionosphere and how each affects the way the other moves resulting in currents in the region. The variations matter because all of our communications and GPS satellites send signals through the ionosphere. A disturbed ionosphere translates to disturbed signals, so scientists want to know just what causes the ionosphere to behave in specific ways.

During the launch period NASA will launch two pairs of rockets consisting of a Terrier-Improved Orion and a Black Brant V. The rockets in each pair will be launched 15 seconds apart. Only one pair of rockets will be launched on any day.

Based on the approved range schedule, the rocket pairs are set for launch between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT. The experiments on the Terrier-Improved Orion rockets will release lithium in the ionosphere. The resulting clouds are not expected to be visible to the naked eye but will be seen by special cameras on the ground.

The rockets will be visible in the Wallops area.


The NASA Visitor Center will open at 8:30 a.m. on launch day for viewing the launch.


The launch will be webcast beginning at 6:30 a.m. on launch day at: http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast


Launch status can be followed on Twitter at: http://www.Twitter.com/NASA_Wallops


Launch status also is available at the

NASA Rocket Launch

From NASA's Wallops Flight Facility
7:00 AM  The launch team reports that the shelters covering the rockets will be moved until the rain in the area clears. They don't expect this happening until around 8 a.m.

Countdown has started this morning towards the opening of the launch window for a NASA Terrier-Improved Orion and Black Brant V sounding rockets. The launch window is 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The webcast begins at 8:30 a.m

Four NASA suborbital sounding rockets carrying experiments to take measurements in the ionosphere will be launched between July 5 and 23 (including weekends) from NASA’s Launch Range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The project is studying neutral and charged particles in the ionosphere and how each affects the way the other moves resulting in currents in the region. The variations matter because all of our communications and GPS satellites send signals through the ionosphere. A disturbed ionosphere translates to disturbed signals, so scientists want to know just what causes the ionosphere to behave in specific ways.

During the launch period NASA will launch two pairs of rockets consisting of a Terrier-Improved Orion and a Black Brant V. The rockets in each pair will be launched 15 seconds apart. Only one pair of rockets will be launched on any day.

Based on the approved range schedule, the rocket pairs are set for launch between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT. The experiments on the Terrier-Improved Orion rockets will release lithium in the ionosphere. The resulting clouds are not expected to be visible to the naked eye but will be seen by special cameras on the ground.

The rockets will be visible in the Wallops area.


The NASA Visitor Center will open at 8:30 a.m. on launch day for viewing the launch.


The launch will be webcast beginning at 6:30 a.m. on launch day at: http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast


Launch status can be followed on Twitter at: http://www.Twitter.com/NASA_Wallops


Launch status also is available at the Wallops launch status line at 757-824-2050.

Launch From NASA On Tuesday

An U.S. Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket carrying the Department of Defenses Operationally Responsive Space offices ORS-1 satellite is scheduled for launch June 28 from NASAs Launch Range at the Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.


ORS-1 is the Operationally Responsive Space Offices first operational satellite. Rapidly developing and fielding ORS-1 is an important step to demonstrate the capability to meet emerging and persistent war-fighter needs on operationally relevant timelines.


The Minotaur 1 rocket, integrated by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC), is a four-stage vehicle, two stages being refurbished Minuteman II stages and the other two stages being OSC developed. The Minotaur is about 70 feet tall and 5 feet wide. The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Centers Space Development and Test Wing has overall mission management responsibility. This will be the fourth Minotaur 1 rocket launched from NASAs Wallops Flight Facility and the Spaceport since December 2006.


Based on the approved range schedule, the rocket is set for launch between 8:28 and 11:28 p.m. EDT. The backup launch days are June 29 July 10 . The launch may be visible, depending on cloud cover and ones viewing location, in the eastern United States from southern New York to North Carolina. It may be seen as far west from the Atlantic Coast as West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. Further information on the mission, including where to view the launch, is available on the internet at:  www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/missions/ORS.html

Source; shoredailynews.com

NASA Rocket Launch From Wallops Set For Thursday

Seventeen educational experiments will fly June 23 on a Terrier- Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket from NASA’s Launch Range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The experiments built by university instructors and students from across the country were developed through programs conducted with the Colorado and Virginia and Space Grant Consortia. The programs are designed to provide participants an introduction in building small experiments that can be launched on sounding rockets.

Based on the approved range schedule, the rocket is set for launch between 6 and 10 a.m. EDT. The backup launch days are June 24 and 25. The rocket will be visible to residents in the Wallops area. The NASA Visitor Center will open at 5 a.m. on launch day for viewing the launch.

The launch will be webcast beginning at 5 a.m. on launch day at: http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast

Launch status can be followed on Twitter at:http://www.Twitter.com/NASA_Wallops

Launch status also is available at the Wallops launch status line at 757-824-2050.

Further information on this mission is available on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/news/rockon2011.html

Wallops Island Rocket Launch

WALLOPS ISLAND

ROCKET LAUNCH

TODAY

Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility.

The launch is scheduled to happen between 7 and 10 a.m. and can be viewed by a webcast that will begin at 6 a.m. weather  permitting.  Backup days are June 10 and 11.

The launch also can be viewed at the NASA Visitor Center, which will open at 6 a.m.

Launch status updates will be provided by NASA on Twitter and by phone at (757) 824-2050.

To learn more about the rocket program, visit www.nasa.gov/wallops. 

NASA Rocket Launch Postponed Indefinitely

The rocket launch of NASAs suborbital rocket scheduled for Wednesday, September 15 has been postponed indefinitely, according to NASA officials.

The reason for delay is to extend testing of the payload system which is used to examine new technologies on the rocket.

The Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket was originally set for Tuesday morning before being pushed back to Wednesday.

New Date For Rocket Launch From NASA

ATLANTIC, Va.- NASA has delayed by at least one day the planned launch of a suborbital rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore next week to test new rocket technologies.

NASA originally planned to launch the Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket from Wallops between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Wednesday. The new launch date is Thursday, Sept. 15 "at the earliest," an e-mail message from Wallops Public Affairs Specialist Rebecca H. Powell said Friday.

Powell's message gave no reason for the delay.

The mission includes the third test of the rocket's primary payload, NASA's Autonomous Flight Safety System. The onboard system is designed to issue a destruct signal if a launch flight deviates from its path.

The rocket will carry two additional payloads. The first is a NASA package of seven sensors to observe the rocket's performance.

The third payload is a Federal Aviation Administration payload designed to inform aircraft and air traffic control systems of the in-flight location and velocity of launch vehicles that could pose a collision hazard to aircraft.

The launch can be viewed from the facility's visitor center, which will be open at 7 a.m. on launch day.

The launch will be web cast beginning at 7 a.m. on launch day at: http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast

Launch status can be followed on Twitter at:
http://www.Twitter.com/NASA_Wallops

Launch status also is available at the Wallops launch status line at (757) 824-2050.

For more information about Wallops Flight Facility and its missions, visit http://www.nasa.gov/wallops

www.wboc.com

NASA Has Open House

The public is invited to see the research that is driving the excitement surrounding NASA's Wallops Flight Facility during an open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., June 5.

Gates will open at 9:30 a.m. The event will be held rain or shine.

In recognition of its 65th anniversary, NASA Wallops, along with many of its customers and partners that conduct activities at the facility, will have exhibits and demonstrations of the research and operations at one of the nation's oldest launch ranges.

Bill Wrobel, director of NASA Wallops, said "Wallops is at a very exciting point in its history. We want our neighbors on Delmarva to have this opportunity to share in this excitement."

"In addition, this is an opportunity to introduce students in the area to many science, technology, engineering and math careers. We hope that one day our local students will be carrying on the research at Wallops."

For the event, Wallops will have many of its facilities on its Main Base open including the sounding rocket payload facility, engineering labs, its scientific balloon labs and the range control center. Visitors will get to see full-scale sounding rockets, a scientific balloon, and the Cygnus spacecraft from Orbital Sciences Corp. Cygnus is scheduled to start carrying supplies to the International Space Station from Wallops in 2011. Also, three local high school teams will demonstrate their robots that competed in the First Robotics Competition.

For young explorers, there will be a kids' activities tent, a giant space shuttle slide and the Atlantic Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company's Fire Prevention Trailer.

In addition, the military aircraft, including the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, performing at the Ocean City Air Show, will be based at Wallops. They will take to the skies in the afternoon. Departure and arrival times will be announced the day of the open house.

Parking will be available on the base and buses will run throughout the day. Food will be available in the facility's cafeteria and on the grill outside out side the café.

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