The second NASA sounding rocket of the season headed into Earth’s upper atmosphere from Poker Flat Research Range shortly after midnight Thursday, carrying a payload of science instruments. It was the second launch in two nights at the rocket range, owned by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and operated under a contract with NASA’s Wallops Flight […]
Two sounding rockets are scheduled to launch from Poker Flat Research Range just minutes apart in an experiment aimed at learning how energy is transferred and dissipated during auroral displays. The findings could increase the understanding of factors affecting satellites in low Earth orbit. The NASA-funded Ion-Neutral Coupling during Active Aurora experiment could launch from […]
Neal Brown has died. The former leader of Poker Flat Research Range and the smiling, suspender-wearing man remembered by many Alaska kids was 82 years old. Born in Idaho, Brown grew up on a farm in Pullman, Washington. He made his way to Alaska in 1963. Here, in 1971, he became the first director of […]
When they launch, the four rockets now pointed northward from Poker Flat Research Range will add to the 345 that have arced over northern Alaska during the past 48 years. Recently, Chuck Deehr remembered number one. Deehr is a retired space physicist at the Geophysical Institute. He had just earned his doctorate in 1968 […]