NASA Delays Five Rocket Mission From Virginia

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Mar 23, 2012, 08:05 ET

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., March 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA has rescheduled the launch of five suborbital sounding rockets from the Wallops Facility in Virginia as part of a study of the upper level jet stream to no earlier than Monday morning March 26.

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Unacceptable weather is expected for a launch attempt on March 25. A decision on a March 26 launch attempt will be made in the evening on March 24.

The Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment (ATREX) will gather information needed to better understand the process responsible for the high-altitude jet stream located 60 to 65 miles above the surface of the Earth.

As part the mission, the five rockets will release a chemical tracer that will form milky, white clouds that allow scientists and the public to "see" the winds in space. These clouds may be visible for up to 20 minutes by residents from South Carolina to southern New Hampshire and Vermont.

More information on the ATREX mission is available on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/missions/atrex.html

SOURCE NASA