In a significant advancement for space research, two NASA sounding rockets were successfully launched from the Poker Flat Research Range, situated north of Fairbanks, early Tuesday morning. This mission is designed to deepen our understanding of how the aurora affects the upper atmosphere.
The rockets executed their mission flawlessly, releasing tracer payloads that were visible across central and northern Alaska. The mission's full completion is pending the launch of a third rocket, anticipated within the launch window that concludes on April 6. The team is currently addressing a minor issue with a wiring harness in one of the motor stages.
Poker Flat, owned by the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Geophysical Institute, operates under a contract with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The mission is spearheaded by UAF space physics professor Mark Conde and includes several UAF graduate student researchers stationed at ground monitoring sites. The project also involves collaboration with NASA and leading universities.
Professor Conde expressed his satisfaction with the mission's progress, stating, “I’m extremely pleased that we were able to get the conditions to line up to allow us to launch and to conduct the experiment. I am absolutely delighted.”
Complex Mission Execution
This mission presented unique challenges as it essentially combined two missions into one. The two-stage rockets were deployed over central Alaska, while the four-stage rocket was launched off the north coast, necessitating different camera locations for each rocket.
The experiment, named Auroral Waves Excited by Substorm Onset Magnetic Events (AWESOME), has the potential to challenge long-standing theories about the aurora’s interaction with the thermosphere. It also aims to enhance space weather forecasting, which is increasingly important as reliance on satellite-based technology grows.
Rocket Launch Details
The launch on Tuesday morning featured a 42-foot Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket, which released its payloads over central Alaska at altitudes ranging from 50 to 110 miles. It was tasked with measuring magnetic perturbations caused by the aurora and deploying instruments to assess pressure fluctuations.
Subsequently, a 70-foot, four-stage Black Brant XII rocket deployed vapor tracers on a grid across four altitudes over the Arctic Ocean during an auroral substorm. It also deployed magnetic and pressure sensors similar to those on the first rocket.
Despite some payloads not performing as expected, the mission was designed with sufficient capability to accommodate such failures. Conde noted, “Enough of the airborne components functioned perfectly for us to meet our success criteria.”
Future Launch Plans
The original schedule aimed for all three rockets to launch within a three-hour window. NASA has provided an update on the third rocket, a two-stage Terrier-Improved Malemute, indicating that an issue with the Malemute motor is currently being assessed for repair.
A team of a dozen UAF researchers, including Poker Flat Chief Scientist Don Hampton, is stationed at ground observation sites across Alaska. The experiment involves collaboration with several partner institutions, including the University of Michigan, Cornell University, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
During peak launch operations, approximately 50 personnel from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility are present at Poker Flat, along with six members of NASA’s science team.