Donald Savage<br />Headquarters, Washington<br />(Phone: 202/358-1727) June 19, 2003<br /><br /><br />Keith Koehler<br />Wallops Flight Facility, Va.<br />(Phone: 757/824-1579)<br /><br /><br />RELEASE: 03-201<br /><br /><br />NIGHTTIME CLOUDS SHED LIGHT ON SPACE WEATHER<br /><br /><br /> NASA is looking for the opportunity, beginning June 23, <br />to launch rocket experiments that will form nighttime clouds <br />in a project intended to shed light on space weather.<br /><br /><br />Three of the four rocket experiments, launched from the NASA <br />Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., will include <br />the formation of milky, white clouds. The clouds will allow <br />scientists to view winds in a high and poorly accessible <br />layer of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere. The <br />ionosphere is strongly affected by solar activity, such as <br />solar flares and UV radiation from sunspots. The state of <br />the ionosphere affects such things as radio communications <br />and Global Positioning System reception on Earth. <br /><br /><br />The clouds from each experiment may be visible, for up to 20 <br />minutes, by residents in the mid-Atlantic region, the lower <br />northeastern United States and South Carolina. The chemicals <br />used to make the clouds pose no danger to the public.<br /><br /><br />The clouds will allow scientists to monitor the Earth's <br />winds at the edge of space, said Dr. Gregory Earle from the <br />University of Texas in Dallas, the lead researcher for the <br />project.<br />"Winds in the ionosphere impact space weather just as the <br />winds on Earth impact our weather. Space weather in turn can <br />affect satellites orbiting the Earth and communication and <br />electrical systems on the ground," Earle said. "The clouds <br />will act as a tracer and allow us to view the winds at <br />various altitudes over a period of time." <br /><br /><br />"The data gathered from this project will aid in our <br />understanding of the relationship between the winds and <br />ionospheric activity. This research may one day lead to the <br />ability to forecast space weather, just as forecasters do <br />today for Earth weather. If we can forecast space weather, <br />then we can better protect our systems in space and on <br />Earth," Earle said.<br /><br /><br />The time and day of launch depends on two major factors: <br />clear skies are required at two of three special camera <br />sites located along the Virginia and North Carolina coast; <br />and a layer of ionized particles must form in the upper <br />layers of the ionosphere and begin to descend.<br /><br /><br />All four launches will occur in one night between 9:30 p.m. <br />and 5 a.m., EDT, June 23 through July 10. There will be <br />about 90 minutes between the launch of the first, second and <br />third rockets. The third and fourth rockets will be launched <br />about 10 minutes apart. The actual period between launches <br />will be decided in real-time as the mission occurs.<br /><br /><br />The milky white clouds form from the release of <br />trimethylaluminum (TMA) on the first, second and fourth <br />rockets. The third rocket carries only scientific <br />instruments. The TMA will be released in space over the <br />Atlantic Ocean at altitudes from 56 miles (90 kilometers) to <br />109 miles (175 kilometers). The clouds will take about four <br />to five minutes to form after the TMA release. NASA has used <br />TMA for decades as part of rocket studies from sites <br />worldwide to study the near-space environment. TMA burns <br />slowly and produces visible light that can be tracked <br />visually and with special camera equipment. <br /><br /><br />The products of the reaction, when TMA is exposed to air or <br />water, are aluminum oxide, carbon dioxide and water. <br />Aluminum oxides are commonly used to combat heartburn and to <br />purify drinking water. TMA poses no threat to the public <br />during preparation on the ground or during the release in <br />space.<br /><br /><br />The project is a NASA and multi-university effort. In <br />addition to the University of Texas, students and personnel <br />from Clemson University and Utah State University are <br />participating in the mission.<br /><br /><br />The public can keep track of the progress of the mission by <br />calling the NASA Wallops Flight Facility launch status line <br />at: 757/824-2050.<br /><br /><br />NASA will have a Web site with text updates and live video <br />of the launches during the mission at:<br /><br /><br />http://www.wff.nasa.gov/webcast<br /><br /><br />For information about NASA, space science, rocketry and <br />space flight on the Internet, visit:<br /><br /><br />http://www.nasa.gov