NASA Five Rocket ATREX Mission Rescheduled

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Mar 15, 2012, 05:07 ET

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va., March 15, 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 the night of Saturday, March 17.

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The high probability of unacceptable weather is preventing a launch attempt on March 16.

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.

A decision on a March 17 launch attempt will made late Friday afternoon, March 16.

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

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

SOURCE NASA