NASA launch set for Wednesday night

NASA says Wednesday’s launch of the suborbital flight will test a modified Black Brant sounding rocket motor and launch vehicle and spacecraft systems as well as sub-payload ejection technologies.

Wallops Flight Facility typically launches 10 suborbital rockets, or sounding rockets, each year to experiment on the latest in space travel, spokesman Keith Koehler said. One of the technologies onboard is a deployment system for vapor clouds that will be used for wind and ionosphere research.

Other clouds in the sky could affect how well the rocket can be seen.

In addition NASA will be trying out a new fabricating method for payloads. And that’s what will provide the sky show during Wednesday’s liftoff.

The vapor, which is to be released about 130 miles above the Earth, will contain a barium-strontium mixture that produces a cloud with a mix of blue-green and red colors. The clouds should begin appearing about 6 minutes after launch, according to Space.com skywatching columnist Joe Rao. Strontium is used to enhance the visibility of the neutral flow.

The amount of barium and strontium is much less than in a fireworks display and poses no threat according to NASA. The launch window extends through next Monday (Oct. 12).

Between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, October 2015, Americans in the mid-Atlantic – from Long Island, New York to Morehead, North Carolina – will get the chance to see evidence of a rocket launch.

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