NASA Wallops Facility Scrubs FIve Rocket Mission for Tonight

NASA has scrubbed the launch tonight of the five suborbital sounding rockets from the Wallops Facility in Virginia as part of a study of the upper level jet stream.

The launch was scrubbed because of an internal radio frequency interference issue with one of the rockets. The next launch attempt is no earlier than the night of Friday, March 16.

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.

More information on the ATREX mission is available on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/atrex.html