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Fantastic Images Of Man-Made Clouds
A Result Of ATREX Mission

1 April, 2012

MessageToEagle.com - Early in the morning on March 27, 2012, NASA launched 5 small rockets from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Each rocket released a chemical tracer that created milky, white clouds at the edge of space. Some of these man- made clouds were truly amazing!

These rockets were part of the anomalous transport rocket experiment or ATREX mission, which is studying high altitude winds.

The launches and the spectacular clouds were reported to be seen from as far south as Wilmington, N.C.; west to Charlestown, W. Va.; and north to Buffalo, N.Y

Lighting the Sky: ATREX Launches

The rockets release chemical tracer.

The first rocket was launched at 4:58 a.m. (EDT) on March 27, 2012. Each subsequent rocket was launched 80 seconds apart and released a chemical tracer that created milky white clouds at the edge of space. The ATREX program is part of a study to better understand the processes responsible for the high-altitude jet stream located 60 to 65 miles above the surface of the Earth.

"We are proud to be a major contributor to this important science mission," said Mr. John Pullen, Orbital Senior Vice President of the company's Technical Services Division. "ATREX was a very ambitious undertaking and the program's entire team did a great job in bringing it across the finish line. We look forward to successfully executing future suborbital missions and continue to be excited with our role as a partner with NASA's Sounding Rocket Program Office."

The five-rocket ATREX mission brings to 26 the total number of launches the Orbital TSD team has supported since the beginning of the NSROC II contract in October 2010. These missions have been carried out from geographically distant launch ranges, including Wallops Island, VA, White Sands Missile Range, NM, Poker Flat, AK, San Nicolas Island, CA, and Andoya, Norway.

Chemical tracers released as part of the experiment -- seen here -- created wispy clouds that will help scientists to better understand wind patterns in the suborbital layer some 60 to 65 miles above the Earth. Using this wind-pattern data, NASA says it will be able to create better models of the electromagnetic fields in space that can damage satellites and disrupt communications systems. March 27, 2012 2:44 PM PDT Photo by: NASA/Wallops

The five rockets released trimethylaluminium, a chemical compound that turns into aluminum oxide when released into the air, producing the ghostly white smokey clouds seen this morning in these photos. March 27, 2012 2:44 PM PDT Photo by: NASA/Wallops

A photo taken early this morning by Steve Maciejewski in Strathmere, N.J. using a Canon EOS 7D. March 27, 2012 2:44 PM PDT Photo by: Steve Maciejewski

The atmospheric layer under study lies 60 to 65 miles above the Earth -- a jet stream higher than the one commonly described in weather reports. The wind speeds here range from 200 mph to well over 300 mph, creating a rapid transport flow from the Earth's middle latitudes to the polar regions.

Strong electrical currents occur in the ionosphere here as well, and electrical turbulence in this region of the atmosphere can adversely affect satellite and radio communications on Earth. March 27, 2012 2:44 PM PDT Photo by: NASA/Wallops

Wispy luminous clouds light up the night sky over Wallops Island, Va., following the launch of five suborbital rockets to study the upper level jet stream. March 27, 2012 2:44 PM PDT Photo by: NASA/Wallops

Tracking the way the clouds move can help scientists understand the movement of the winds some 65 miles up in the sky, which in turn will help create better models of the electromagnetic regions of space that can damage man-made satellites and disrupt communications systems.

MessageToEagle.com

See also:
Earth's Clouds Are Dropping - Something Important Is Happening

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