What goes up must come down!

UAF's Poker Flat Research Range has participated in a NASA program since 1969 that uses sounding rockets to collect information about the Sun, stars, galaxies, and Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere, and to develop and test satellite and spacecraft instruments before they are flown on larger, more complex satellites. Taking their name from the nautical term "to sound," meaning to take measurements, these rockets are in flight for roughly 8 to 20 minutes, during which researchers collect scientific data and conduct experiments using state-of-the-art instruments. After the solid rocket motor burns all its fuel, it separates from the payload, which then begins to collect data for the experimenters, and both the payload and rocket motors fall back to Earth. On many missions, after the payload has re-entered the atmosphere, it is brought gently back to Earth by parachute and then retrieved, allowing a recovered payload to be refurbished and flown again, with tremendous savings in time and money. To help maintain Alaska's pristine environment, UAF and NASA work to recover all hardware through an active search and recovery program. NASA contracts with the UAF Geophysical Institute's Poker Flat Research Range to launch these suborbital rockets, whose flight resembles a massive U-turn from Earth to space and back.

College, Alaska · United States