[Scan-DC] Rocket Launch Saturday visible in DC area

[Andrew Leyden]

Wallops Island has a rather large sounding rocket going up Saturday  
night (weather permitting, and it hasn't been the last few days which  
is why it's been postponed until Saturday).

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/CARE.html

In addition to seeing the rocket trail (which should be SSE of  
Washington, DC--look in the direction of Pennsylvania Avenue SE) there  
will be an artificially 'enhanced' cloud that might be visible for  
sometime after the test.

The Charged Aerosol Release Experiment (CARE) will be conducted by the  
Naval Research Laboratory and the Department of Defense Space Test  
Program using a NASA four-stage Black Brant XII suborbital sounding  
rocket. Using ground based instruments and the STP/NRL STPSat-1  
spacecraft, scientists will study an artificial noctilucent cloud  
formed by the exhaust particles of the rocket’s fourth stage at about  
173 miles altitude.

The rocket flight and the resulting cloud may be seen throughout the  
mid-Atlantic region. The artificial noctilucent cloud also may be  
visible the following morning just before sunrise.


You can follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops

But for the countdown I recommend the webcast: http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast