(ORDO NEWS) — NASA will test a new capability to support science in the mesosphere with a two-rocket launch from NASA’s Wallops Space Center on February 9, 2023.
Two advanced Orion suborbital sounding rockets will be launched approximately 30 minutes apart between 4 pm.
The live stream will start approximately 15 minutes before the first scheduled launch.
The rockets are part of missions to further study the mesosphere. Meteor dust ablation, noctilucent clouds, and the chemical composition of the upper atmosphere and winds are studied in this area.
A thorough study of the mesosphere requires relatively inexpensive rockets that can be fired consecutively over several hours.
These missiles and their payload must also be small to ensure minimal disruption of the area under study during the experiment.
The upcoming launch into the mesosphere of newly developed compact payloads will be carried out with the help of the so-called NASA fleet.
The first payload is 10 centimeters in diameter and 180 centimeters long, the second is 23 centimeters in diameter and 211 centimeters long.
During the upcoming launch, the rockets are expected to deliver their payloads to an altitude of about 110 kilometers, where the aerodynamic stability and performance of both the launch vehicle and the payload structure will be tested.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.