FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two rockets were successfully launched from Poker Flat Research Range at 12:50 and 1:09 a.m. Tuesday as part of a UAF Geophysical Institute-lead experiment to study winds in the upper atmosphere related to the aurora.

The mission, known as the Horizontal E-region Experiment or HEX project, differed from other launches at Poker Flat since one of the rockets was designed to tip on its side in mid-flight. NASA scientists were interested in the project because the tilting of the rocket’s trajectory was unprecedented.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UAF Geophysical Institute Assistant Professor of Physics Mark Conde will attempt to turn rocket science on its side with an aurora experiment with a launch window of February 22 through March 10. Conde is the principal investigator of the first institute-led rocket launch at Poker Flat Research Range since 1995.

The mission, known as the Horizontal E-region Experiment or HEX project, will differ from  other Poker Flat launches because the rocket will tip on its side in mid-flight.

First rocket experiment of 2009 launches from Poker Flat Research Range

For Immediate Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are collaborating with students from Toyama Prefectural University and Tokai University in Japan to prepare a rocket scheduled to launch from Poker Flat Research Range on March 11. The launch was originally scheduled for March 4, but was delayed to allow time for the students to finetune their payload equipment.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska—A total of eight National Aeronautics and Space Administration sounding rockets will launch from Poker Flat Research Range in 2009. The rocket season is split into two launch windows. The first launch window opens Jan. 10, and will remain open until Feb. 5, 2009.

The first window will see the launch of three rockets as part of two separate missions. One mission will aid scientists’ study of the ionosphere, while the other will gather data on the structure of auroral arcs.