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Wallops launch now planned for Wednesday

Posted at 1:23 PM, Aug 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-16 13:23:34-04

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. – A Terrier Improved-Malemute suborbital sounding rocket is now scheduled to launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wednesday morning after Tuesday’s scheduled launch was scrubbed due to boats being present in the hazard area off the coast, reported WTKR.

The launch window is from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. with backup launch dates planned for August 18 and 19.

The rocket will carry experiments developed by college students participating in the RockSat-X program in conjunction with the Colorado Space Grant Consortium.

Participating institutions in this flight are the University of Colorado, Boulder; Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho; the University of Puerto Rico (UPR); the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg; Capitol Technology University, Laurel, Maryland; Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin; and University of Hawai’i Community Colleges at the Honolulu, Kapi’olani, Kaua’i, and Windward campuses.

The RockSat-X program allows students to build experiments for spaceflight and requires them to expand their skills to develop more complex projects. The experiments are flown approximately 20 miles higher in altitude than those in the RockOn and RockSat-C programs, providing more flight time in space.

After flying to around 95 miles altitude, the payload, with the experiments, will descend by parachute and is expected to land 15 minutes after launch in the Atlantic Ocean, about 63 miles off the Virginia coast.

The experiments and any stored data will be provided to the students later in the day following recovery.

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