This rocks! NASA sends scientific teaching materials for students into space

On Tuesday, August 13, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is scheduled to launch a sounding rocket carrying student-developed experiments for the RockSat-X mission.

The Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket is expected to reach an altitude of about 100 miles (162 kilometers) before parachuting into the Atlantic Ocean for recovery. The launch window for the mission is Aug. 13 from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. EDT, with backup days on Aug. 14, 15 and 16. The Wallops Visitor Center’s launch observation area will open at 5 a.m. to watch the launch. A livestream of the mission will begin 15 minutes before launch on the Wallops YouTube channel. Launch updates will also be available via the Wallops Facebook page. The launch may be visible in the Chesapeake Bay region.

The rocket will carry experiments developed by nine university and community college teams as part of NASA’s RockSat program.

“The RockSat program provides students with unique hands-on experience in developing scientific experiments and working in teams, preparing these students for careers in STEM,” says Dr. Joyce Winterton, senior advisor for education and leadership development at Wallops.

• The University of Alabama Huntsville conducts two main experiments:
  1. Joint Union of Payload Information and Technology between Experiments and Rockets (JUPITER), a customized bus-like spacecraft system that connects the hardware of the experiments with the existing electronics of the launch vehicle.
  2. SwingSat will advance the technology maturity of Momentum Exchange Tether technology as part of the deployment of satellite constellations.

• The University of Alberta will demonstrate instruments to characterize plasma wave activity and electron microburst deposition, in particular by resolving relativistic and subrelativistic electron deposition. The project will be able to measure magnetic plasma wave oscillations, including chorus waves and ground-based low frequency transmitters. The outcome of this mission will improve the technology readiness level.

• Clemson University The experiment will measure the electron density and temperature of the ionosphere of Region E at a depth of 90 to 150 kilometers.

• The College of the Canyons The experiment will involve using three capsules to collect data on greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere to help combat climate change.
• The Community Colleges of Coloradoa collaboration between Arapahoe and Red Rocks Community Colleges, aims to study how microgravity affects the mechanical properties of lunar regolith simulants sintered during suborbital flights. The mission will also develop a low-cost star tracker using commercially available materials and open-source software.

• Northwest Nazarene University is testing a space-grade robotic arm that can track and catch objects. The arm will extend and catch three balls, then stow away for re-entry, and also take video footage of all catch attempts.

• The University of Puerto Rico will collect environmental data of the atmosphere using humidity, temperature and pressure sensors. Using an ultra-high frequency antenna, telecommunications will use open source protocols to send data to ground stations in Wallops. Continuous virtual reality footage of the flight will be used for STEM activities.

• Virginia Tech The experiment tests a space tether that provides power and a mechanical connection to a small CubeSat.

• West Virginia Space Cooperationa collaboration of five universities in West Virginia, will conduct nine independent experiments as part of the RockSat-X mission in 2024. These include:
• • MSmaller Ionospheric Electric Field (LIEF) twin probes, which will study plasma and electric field densities during flight.
  • A Mycelium properties experiment investigating the mechanical properties of mycelium under space flight conditions.
  • A flight dynamics module that records data on rocket and space flight conditions.
  • A Geiger counter to measure radiation density during the flight.
  • A thermal study analyzing heat dissipation during space flight and reentry.
  • A study of the effects of space flight on soil microbes during flight and reentry.
  • Electricity generation using type K thermocouples.
  • Spectrometric and photographic data of the Sun.
  • Creating a 3D flight model using LiDAR tracking and flight data.

NASA’s sounding rocket program is conducted at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility, which is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. NASA’s Heliophysics Division manages the sounding rocket program for the agency.