For Immediate Release

An experiment called HEX2 that consisted of four NASA suborbital sounding rockets, launched from Poker Flat Research Range during an aurora display over northern Alaska this morning. Each rocket emitted vapor trails in an experiment to learn more about winds associated with the aurora. Researchers saw the vapor trails from Poker Flat; about 30 miles north of Fairbanks, and aurora watchers at clear locations throughout northern Alaska should have been able to see them.

A sub-orbital sounding rocket is scheduled to launch in February from Poker Flat Research Range when the weather is clear and aurora conditions are active. The rocket, a Black Brant XII, will capture measurements to deduce characteristics about the processes that create the aurora. The project is called the Rocket Auroral Correlator Experiment (RACE).