8:00 AM | *NASA/Wallops rocket launch early tonight may be visible in Mid-Atlantic region*
Paul Dorian
A visibility map showing the mid-Atlantic region. The map shows how many seconds after that people in the area, weather permitting, may be able to see the Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket in the sky.
Credits: NASA Wallops/Christian Billie
Overview
There is a rocket launch scheduled for tonight at the NASA/Wallops Island facility and it may be visible to residents in the Mid-Atlantic region. A two-stage suborbital sounding rocket is scheduled to be launched in the window between 7 and 10 PM for a mission managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The purpose of this mission is to increase the understanding of the boundary layer transition, turbulent heating and drag on vehicles flying at hypersonic conditions.
The BOLT-2 payload undergoes balance testing at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.
Credits: NASA Wallops/Berit Bland
Details
A launch of the Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket is scheduled for tonight between the hours of 7 and 10 pm with backup dates any time from tomorrow through the end of March. The rocket launch may be visible in most of the Mid-Atlantic region in the seconds following the lift-off. The mission is called Boundary layer Turbulence 2 or BOLT-2 and its purpose is to increase the understanding of the boundary layer transition, turbulent heating and drag on vehicles. Boundary layer transition to turbulence is the process where smooth, laminar flow becomes unstable after which turbulence dominates and significantly increases heating and drag on high-speed vehicles.
Live coverage of the mission will begin at 6:40 PM on Monday night on the Wallops YouTube site and you can also follow the latest on their Twitter page.
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Arcfield
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