The Only University-Owned Rocket Range in the World

UAF's Poker Flat Research Range, 30 miles northeast of Fairbanks, is owned and operated by the UAF Geophysical Institute and launches rockets under contract to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It is the world's only university-owned scientific rocket launch facility and one of the world's largest land-based rocket ranges. Established in 1969 on a shoestring budget on land leased from the state of Alaska, it has gradually upgraded its facilities in response to increasingly sophisticated experiments. As of 2015, it had launched more than 340 large rockets and 1,500 meteorological rockets. The range now includes rocket assembly and launching capabilities, telemetry receiving stations, and ground-based instruments needed for launch decisions and for space, aeronomy, and atmospheric science. The largest vehicle launched from Poker Flat was 85 feet long and flew to an altitude of 932 miles before coming down in the Arctic Ocean. Located 35 miles northeast of Fairbanks on the Steese Highway in Chatanika, Alaska, the 5,000-acre range is an ideal location for launching sounding rockets to study the aurora.

College, Alaska · United States