NASA to launch 5 ATREX Rockets Between Saturday Night And April 3

[peterose313 345]

The Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX) is a Heliophysics sounding rocket mission that 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.

The high-altitude jet stream is higher than the one commonly reported in weather forecasts. The winds found in this upper jet stream typically have speeds of 200 to well over 300 mph and create rapid transport from the Earth's mid latitudes to the polar regions. This jet stream is located in the same region where strong electrical currents occur in the ionosphere. It is therefore a region with a lot of electrical turbulence, of the type that can adversely affect satellite and radio communications.

The five rockets will release a chemical tracer that will form milky, white tracer clouds that allow scientists and the public to "see" the winds in space. In addition, two of the rockets will have instrumented payloads, to measure the pressure and temperature in the atmosphere at the height of the high-speed winds.

Edit: Launch time will be between midnight and 3 am

Edit 2: Due to weather deteriorating and boats being uncooperative to stay out of the launch area they NASA has officially scrubbed the mission as of 0132 hrs. Due to expected weather conditions they will not be able to launch on Friday night. They will attempt again on Saturday as long as the weather is clear. If they do not have clear skies, they will be unable to launch. They will be doing a weather update tomorrow for Saturday as the current forecast called for a 40% chance of lightning for Saturday night. I wouldn't be surprised to see them scrub for Saturday as well and re-attempt for Sunday or Monday night.

Edit 3: NASA had a weather briefing yesterday and decided that due to inclement weather they will launch no sooner than Monday night. Their launch window will be from 12 am - 3 am Tuesday morning. I will continue to update this until they are finally able to launch.

NASA's briefing

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Live Webcast

Edited March 24, 2012 by peterose313

[peterose313 345]

NASA managers have given a "go" for a countdown leading to the launch of the five suborbital sounding rockets early in the morning March 27 on a science mission that will briefly create a milky white cloud that may be visible to a large portion of the U.S. east coast. The launch window for the mission will be between 2 and 5 a.m. on Tuesday, March 27. The countdown will begin at 9 p.m. Monday, March 26. Clear skies are predicted for the Tuesday launch. However, ground level winds may exceed the allowable limits for the flights to occur. Web Cast and Ustream will begin at 10 p.m. Monday, March 26.

[sueg 77]

They had a similar launch and mission between 2-3 years ago that was also visible to the public.

Just checked the website link and confirmed what I remembered - it was Feb. 2009 over Alaska and North pole area.

Edited March 26, 2012 by sueg

[peterose313 345]

UStream for those who are still up, the test rockets are getting ready to be fired shortly. They're being elevated as I write this. It looks like there's a chance this will be a go finally

[peterose313 345]

Raw video of Nasa launching the ATREX rockets

http://youtu.be/feEZHdMLMzk