NASA Delayed Launch Of Atmosphere Studying Rockets

Yesterday I mentioned that NASA intended launch five different rockets over the course of 5 minutes from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. If you watched the skies last night hoping to see the rockets blasting into the sky and the resulting release of chemical tracers, the launch never happened. Apparently, NASA delayed the launch due to issues.

The specific problem that delayed the launch wasn't announced with NASA simply saying there was a problem with the payload. The payload was nothing but a chemical tracer that was supposed to be released in the atmosphere to study high-altitude winds that move very quickly. The launch will be re-attempted no sooner than Friday night.

The rockets are supposed to release chemical tracers to study winds that swirl around the Earth at up to 300 mph, roughly 65 miles above the Earth's surface. NASA expects sky watchers will be able to see the rockets launch and see the milky white clouds resulting from the chemical tracer release for about 20 minutes after the launch. People in Myrtle Beach South Carolina all the way to Southern New Hampshire and as far west as Morgantown West Virginia should be able to see the clouds and launch with decent weather. That massive area covers Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.

[via WSJ]