Rocket Launch Scheduled For Tonight From Wallops

Rocket Launch Scheduled June 4 From Wallops

WALLOPS ISLAND, VA – A Black Brant XII suborbital rocket carrying the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment (CIBER)is scheduled for launch between 11 and 11:59 p.m. EDT, June 4, from NASA’s launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The backup launch days are June 5 through 10. The rocket may be visible to residents in the mid-Atlantic region.

With CIBER, scientists will be studying when the first stars and galaxies formed in the universe and how brightly they burned their nuclear fuel.

Jamie Bock, CIBER principal investigator from the California Institute of Technology, said, “The objectives of the experiment are of fundamental importance for astrophysics: to probe the process of first galaxy formation. The measurement is extremely difficult technically.”

This will be the fourth flight for CIBER on a NASA sounding rocket. The previous launches were in 2009, 2010 and 2012 from the White Sands Missile Range, N.M. After each flight the experiment or payload was recovered for post-calibrations and re-flight.
For this flight CIBER will fly on a larger and more powerful rocket than before. This will loft CIBER to a higher altitude than those previously obtained, thus providing longer observation time for the instruments. The experiment, which will safely splash down in the Atlantic Ocean more than 400 miles off the Virginia coast, will not be recovered.

The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will open at 9:30 p.m. on launch day for public viewing of the launch.

The mission will be available live on Ustream beginning at 10 p.m. on launch day at: http://www.ustream.com/channel/nasa-wallops

Mission status on launch day can be followed on Twitter and Facebook at:http://www.twitter.com/NASA_Wallops or http://www.facebook.com/NASAWFF

Mission status also is available on the Wallops launch status line at 757-824-2050.
More information on CIBER and the NASA Sounding Rocket Program is available at:http://www.nasa.gov/soundingrockets

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/news/ciberla.html

Antares Rocket Rehearses For Countdown On Wednesday

NASA Photo

On Saturday, Orbital Sciences Corporation conducted a wet dress rehearsal for the Antares rocket in preparation its Test Flight scheduled for later this week on April 17.

 Late in the countdown, at about T-16 minutes, the test was halted because the launch team had detected a technical anomaly in the process. Orbital has determined that a secondary pyro valve aboard one of the two first-stage engines used in the propellant chilldown process was not functioning properly.

 A replacement unit will be installed within 24 hours with the goal of maintaining the April 17 launch date.

To stay updated:
NASA.GOV

NASA To Launch 5 Rockets In 5 Minutes

NASA is scheduled to launch five suborbital sounding rockets in just over five minutes March 15 from the Wallops Facility in Virginia as part of a study of the upper level jet stream.


Based on the approved range schedule, the launch window for March 15 is between midnight and 1:30 a.m. EDT. The backup launch days are March 16 through April 3.

The Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX) will gather information needed to better understand the process responsible for the high-altitude jet stream located 60 to 65 miles above the surface of the Earth.

As part the mission, the five rockets will release a chemical tracer that will form milky, white clouds that allow scientists and the public to "see" the winds in space. These clouds may be visible for up to 20 minutes by residents from South Carolina to southern New Hampshire and Vermont.

The NASA Visitor Center will open at 10 p.m. on March 14, 2012 for public viewing.

Launch status also is available on the Facility’s Facebook page and its launch status line at 757-824-2050.

The mission will be web cast beginning at 10 p.m. on March 14, 2012 at:

http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast

Mission status on March 14 can be followed on Twitter at:

http://www.Twitter.com/NASA_Wallops

More information on the ATREX mission is available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/atrex.html

Rocket Launch Posponed

NASA is postponing the launch of two suborbital sounding rockets from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on July 15.

 The postponement will allow scientist to review the results from two previous rockets launched from Wallops on July 10 and make adjustments to the project to enhance the science data obtained during the flights.

Further information on the mission is available on the Internet at:  www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/rockets-atmosphere.html 

The next launch currently scheduled at the Wallops Flight Facility is a Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket carrying experiments from four universities. The launch is set for 7 to 10 a.m. July 21. The backup launch day is July 22.

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.

New Date For NASA Rocket Launch

NASA has announced the rocket launch which was cancelled last week has been rescheduled for Tuesday morning.

The Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket will test several new rocket technologies. The launch is scheduled to launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility between 8:00 AM and 11:00 AM, according to a NASA news release.

The Visitor Center will open at 7:00 AM for those who want to watch the launch, which will also be viewable from certain areas along the seaside coast. Backup dates for the launch are Wednesday and Thursday.

The launch also can be viewed on NASA's website(below) beginning at 7:00 AM on launch day. The status of the launch also can be followed on Twitter or by calling (757)824-2050.


More Information NASA's Website

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

Rocket Launch A Success

College students are looking forward to studying their experiments being carried in a suborbital rocket launched from Virginia's Eastern Shore.

The Terrier-Orion suborbital sounding rocket launched Thursday morning from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The rocket was estimated to be traveling more than 2,650 miles per hour less than a minute into the launch.

The rocket carried 11 experiments that were developed in part with a weeklong workshop on how to build small experiments for launch aboard suborbital rockets.

A boat was to travel more than 40 miles from shore later Thursday to retrieve the rocket from the water. The students whose experiments were on board will have them returned for study.

www.shoredailynews.com