Author Topic: Charged Aerosol Release Experiment- Black Brant XII- suborbital- 09/14/09  (Read 18417 times)

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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Quote
A rocket experiment that may shed light on the highest clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere will be conducted Sept. 15 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Black Brant Sounding Rocket 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 launch is scheduled between 7:30 and 7:57 p.m. EDT. The backup launch days are Sept. 16 through 20. 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.

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

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Ugh, too cloudy here, probably not much to see if they finally launch... I've never seen (conciously) a noctulicent cloud, so could be quite a display :)
-DaviD-

Offline Robotbeat

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Great, just what we need! Fuel for the chemtrail conspiracies... ;)
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Offline ineedalife999

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Due to the nature of the experiment, there needs to be clear skies to view the cloud at Wallops and at the observation points in New Jersey and North Carolina.  We've got some high cirrus clouds at Wallops right now that they are watching.

I'm leaving in a few minutes to watch, so I hope it goes tonight!
“We will never be an advanced civilization as long as rain showers can delay the launching of a space rocket.” -George Carlin

Offline grakenverb

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« Last Edit: 09/15/2009 10:33 pm by grakenverb »

Offline robertross

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Thanks!

'almost' live works for me  :)

Offline William Graham

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Offline William Graham

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Standing by to launch some test rockets. Boat on the edge of the hazard area at the moment.

Offline William Graham

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Test director and RSO discussing whether there is any point in launching the test rockets before the Black Brant.

RSO suggests the boat only needs to move "a couple of hundred feet"
« Last Edit: 09/15/2009 10:54 pm by GW_Simulations »

Offline William Graham

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They can't contact the boat, so they're going to get the surveillance aircraft to fly past to get their attention.

Offline William Graham

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Test rockets scrubbed. They're going to proceed with vertical tests, and then the main launch.

T-8 minutes and holding for the first vertical test.
« Last Edit: 09/15/2009 10:58 pm by GW_Simulations »

Offline William Graham

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Camera 5 is red. This is used for tracking, but they are unable to turn the dome to follow the rocket after launch.

Offline William Graham

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Might be able to launch test rockets on an azimuth of 115 degrees.

Offline William Graham

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Countdown will pick up at 23:05 for the vertical tests.

EDIT:

T-8 minutes and counting.
« Last Edit: 09/15/2009 11:05 pm by GW_Simulations »

Offline William Graham

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Clouds are an issue. Controllers are expecting to call a scrub in about 25 minutes.

T-5 minutes on the test.
« Last Edit: 09/15/2009 11:09 pm by GW_Simulations »

Offline Ford Mustang

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Probably scrubbing at T-10 minutes for the night, weather not favorable.  Not official, but probable.  Will know in about 25 minutes.
« Last Edit: 09/15/2009 11:09 pm by Ford Mustang »

Offline William Graham

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T-30 seconds and counting on the test

Offline William Graham

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T-0 on the test.

Offline William Graham

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Test complete.

T-30 minutes on the main launch.

Offline William Graham

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T-26:30 and holding.

Polling for scrub.

Offline William Graham

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Scrubbed.

48 hour turnaround due to bad weather tomorrow. May do some more tests on the rocket, or launch test rockets later today.
« Last Edit: 09/15/2009 11:19 pm by GW_Simulations »

Offline dgates

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Scrubbed.

48 hour turnaround due to bad weather tomorrow. May do some more tests on the rocket, or launch test rockets later today.

What they are doing:

http://wpdp.colorado.edu/Files/Presentations/BERNHARDT.pdf

Just checked the Twitter site, they have given a go for a launch attempt Saturday evening.

Black Brant XII rocket launch on schedule between 7:32 and 7:49 p.m., Sat, Sep 19. Web cast begins at 6:30 p.m. sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast

Pilot

Offline dgates

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Viewing of this sounding rocket launch will be widespread due to the required clear weather and the proximity to major population centers.  I would not be surprised to see mainstream media coverage -- the CARE plume may very well be quite photogenic.

Pilot

Offline dgates

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I just flew over the launch site an hour ago in a small plane.  Weather is *perfect*, not a cloud in the sky, surface winds at Wallops were 040 @ 10 knots.  The rocket is still in it's protective shroud / service structure so was not able to actually see it.  (and yes, I did make sure the airspace was "cold" before flying over!)
« Last Edit: 09/19/2009 07:47 pm by dgates »
Pilot

Online DaveS

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Webcast is up and the team just completed a computer sim of sort.
"For Sardines, space is no problem!"
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"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
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Online DaveS

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First test rocket have been launched. Polling for GO of the second test rocket launch.
« Last Edit: 09/19/2009 11:02 pm by DaveS »
"For Sardines, space is no problem!"
-1996 Astronaut class slogan

"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
-USA engineer about the rollback of Discovery prior to the STS-114 Return To Flight mission

Online DaveS

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Second test rocket launched. These test rockets are used to check out the radar systems at WFF.
"For Sardines, space is no problem!"
-1996 Astronaut class slogan

"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
-USA engineer about the rollback of Discovery prior to the STS-114 Return To Flight mission

Online DaveS

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Black-Brant XII have launched at 2346:00 UTC.
"For Sardines, space is no problem!"
-1996 Astronaut class slogan

"We're rolling in the wrong direction but for the right reasons"
-USA engineer about the rollback of Discovery prior to the STS-114 Return To Flight mission

Offline charlieb

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'Cloud' see here from SE Pennsylvania... Didn't last long as it dispersed in the vacuum pretty quickly...
Former Shuttle Mission Ops Eng  (In them days DF24 - INCO GROUP/COMMS, Now DS231-AVIONICS BRANCH).

Offline klausd

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Online TJL

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Had a great view (from Long Island, NY) of launch phase as well as cloud dispersal from 4th stage.
White cloud was triangular in shape...pretty amazing site!

Offline dgates

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Viewing of this sounding rocket launch will be widespread due to the required clear weather and the proximity to major population centers.  I would not be surprised to see mainstream media coverage -- the CARE plume may very well be quite photogenic.



Sure enough....

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/20/strange.lights/index.html
Pilot

Offline cornerman

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Incredible light show here in Lowell, Ma.!!
Interesting story..... My father-in-law has been in a local nursing home for 6 or 8 weeks and his health has been deteriorating quickly. Last night, my wife and I got the call we knew would eventually come. My dear friend and father-in-law, George, had passed away. My wife and I, some time around 1AM, got dressed and headed out the door. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and I was spooked for a moment by what I thought was someone shining a flashlights. The lights seemed to be swirling around me through the tree branches. My wife and I looked up to see a spectacular ball of light streaming exactly north through the sky. We looked at each other and I said, "There goes your Dad heading for heaven!"
It was great timing! It certainly was a sight to see that I will not soon forget. :o
Thanks for a terrific forum.
Jerry - Lowell, Ma.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/20/strange.lights/index.html

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Very touching story Jerry. Thanks for sharing and welcome to the site's forum.
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Offline GoPlastic

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My wife and I, some time around 1AM, got dressed and headed out the door. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and I was spooked for a moment by what I thought was someone shining a flashlights. The lights seemed to be swirling around me through the tree branches. My wife and I looked up to see a spectacular ball of light streaming exactly north through the sky.

hi jerry, hi everyone.  thanks for the touching story.

i was driving home on Long Island last night, minutes before 1AM, facing north, and a massive fireball exactly as you described appeared in front of me.  does anyone know if this was perhaps a stage of the CARE rocket returning to earth?  i've seen hundreds if not thousands of meteors, and this one was nothing like them.  bright white light, streaking at high speed almost directly northwards, finally glowing green, that turned night into day for a few seconds before disappearing over the horizon.  i was unaware of the rescheduled launch, as well - i was wondering if anyone knows if the clouds will be visible tonight and beyond?  or have i missed my viewing opportunity?

thanks in advance for any replies, and for having such a great forum up.  i'll be checking back regularly as events warrant.

Offline Robotbeat

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Does anyone have pictures of the lights in the sky?
Chris  Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

To the maximum extent practicable, the Federal Government shall plan missions to accommodate the space transportation services capabilities of United States commercial providers. US law http://goo.gl/YZYNt0

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Offline ineedalife999

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GoPlastic-

I don't think it was a stage re-entering.  The first three stages would have impacted the Atlantic within 10-15 minutes of launch, and the fourth stage (that was used to make the cloud) would have come down soon after.  The Black Brant series are all suborbital, so it wouldn't have stayed up from 745 PM to 1 AM.

Whatever it was, it wasn't the rocket.  Maybe mother nature trying to one-up that cloud.
“We will never be an advanced civilization as long as rain showers can delay the launching of a space rocket.” -George Carlin

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