COURT HOUSE – With tonight’s forecast calling for mostly clear skies, Cape May County residents should be able to see NASA’s sounding rocket launch from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
NASA will flight test a modified Black Brant sounding rocket motor, launch vehicle and spacecraft systems and payload ejection technologies during a suborbital mission between 7 and 9 p.m. Oct. 7, according to NASA’s website.
The vapor tracer deployment being tested on this flight uses small rocket motors to eject a vapor cloud at about 130 miles above the Earth. The main payload releases will occur at an altitude around 118 miles.
The barium-strontium mixture produces a cloud with a mixture of blue-green and red color. The blue-green part is neutral, i.e. not charged. Strontium is used to enhance the visibility of the neutral flow.
The amount of barium and strontium used in the test is much smaller than that used in a typical July 4 fireworks display and poses no hazard to the community.
Live coverage of the launch is available via UStream beginning at 6 p.m.: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-tv-wallops
Learn more: http://goo.gl/sVIwtX
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