Seven Rockets Scheduled for Launch from Poker Flat Research Range

January 8, 2003

Seven rockets carrying experiments used to study the aurora are scheduled
for launch from Poker Flat Research Range this winter.  The projects include
a group of four rockets launched in rapid succession to measure wind in the
upper atmosphere and one rocket that will turn on its side mid-flight,
allowing it to pierce a curtain of aurora horizontally.

The first launch window of the season is scheduled for January 22 through
February 8. During that time, the High Bandwidth Auroral Rocket (HIBAR)
mission will wait for ideal conditions to launch a single, two-stage Black
Brant IX sounding rocket to measure high-frequency wave signals in the
aurora.  The mission is designed to test a theory that resulted from
previous data-gathering efforts at Poker Flat in 1997 and 2002.

Between February 18 and March 8, scientists in the JOULE mission will need
clear, calm weather and appropriate auroral conditions to launch four
rockets high above Earth to measure wind in the upper atmosphere.  All four
rockets are scheduled to launch within six minutes of each other.  Two of
the rockets will carry instruments, and the third and fourth rocket will
release harmless chemicals to create brilliant, colorful trails that will
glow as they are carried by wind blowing in the upper atmosphere.  The
colorful trails are expected to be visible from the ground as far south as
Anchorage, and as far north as Arctic Village and Kaktovik.

During the same period, UAF Geophysical Institute Assistant Professor Mark
Conde will attempt to turn rocket science on its side with a dual-rocket
experiment.  Conde is the principal investigator of the first institute-led
rocket launch at Poker Flat since 1995.  His HEX mission will differ from
other Poker Flat launches because the primary rocket in the experiment will
tip on its side in mid-flight, allowing it to pierce a curtain of aurora
horizontally.  Much like the rockets in the JOULE mission, each rocket in
Condešs mission will release a harmless chemical trail that will be recorded
by camera sites at Arctic Village and Toolik Lake in Alaska, and at Old Crow
in the Yukon Territory.

Poker Flat, located 30 miles northeast of Fairbanks, is owned by the
University of Alaska, and operated by the Geophysical Institute under
contract to NASA.  

CONTACT:
Vicki Daniels, Public Relations Specialist, UAF Geophysical Institute:
(907) 474-5823 or via email at vicki@gi.alaska.edu