SRPO Annual Report 2017.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA

Sounding Rockets Annual Report 2017

Phil Eberspeaker Chief, Sounding Rockets Program Office

M es sa g e fr o m t h e

C h ie f

From studies of star birth regions in the Milky Way to our at-mosphere and near space environment, sounding rockets enable science and technology advancement in a relatively low cost and fast turnaround fashion. An important hallmark of the program is its ability to conduct launch operations from locations around the world. These remote campaigns allow scientists to “go to where the science occurs, when it occurs”. The Sounding Rockets Program’s mobile capability, coupled with the unique ability to collect in-situ measurements at specific altitudes of interest, continues to make the program an important element of NASA’s research activities.

Two geospace campaigns were conducted in 2017. The Poker Flat Research Range campaign involved a total of five rockets. Four of the rockets were launched to study the high latitude ionosphere, and specifically different aspects of auroral dynamics. The fifth rocket gathered data on nitric oxide and its link to ozone destruc-tion at high latitudes. The equatorial campaign was conducted from the Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands in September. This campaign involved two rockets designed to discover details about the forma-tion of a phenomenon called Equatorial Spread F (ESF). Data from these missions, in conjunction with data from numerous mis-sions over the years, are helping scientists better understand space weather and how it impacts our lives here on earth.

In addition to the two remote campaigns, the program also sup-ported Solar and Astrophysics research, as well as, education and technology development activities. The Rapid Acquisition Imaging Spectrograph Experiment (RAISE) obtained the highest sequence of UV spectra of the Sun taken to date! RAISE studies the Solar Corona, Chromosphere, and the Transition region between the two layers. Moving further out in the Universe, the Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (CHESS) enables scientists to study regions of star and planet formation in the Milky Way. CHESS was launched successfully for the third time in 2017.

These missions help us better understand our local solar system and the evolution and dynamics of the universe as a whole.

One of the on-going goals of the program is to enable new science missions in order to expand scientific return. This activity involves the development of higher data collection rates, expansion of sci-entific observation times, and creation of new techniques to collect unique science. The program completed the development effort for the rocket propelled ampoule system which represents a new means for measuring high altitude particle dynamics over a large volume of space. This technology is also being applied to small instrumented subpayloads to enable simultaneous multi-point electric field and particle energy measurements. Where once five or six free flying subpayloads were possible, now twenty or more are feasible.

Astrophysicists are always wanting to collect more photons to enhance scientific return. This dictates a need for either larger diameter payloads to accommodate larger mirrors, or longer obser-vation times – and usually both. Astrophysics missions have, to a large extent, been limited to flying from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico due to the requirement to recover the instruments for re-flight. Longer flights require higher apogees, which gener-ally dictate the need for ranges with larger impact areas. Larger launch ranges usually require flight over the ocean. The program is developing new water recovery technologies to enable such missions at a cost that is commensurate with the low-cost nature of the program. The new system includes a hydrodynamic wedge to reduce impact loads and sealed sections to protect the science instruments and expensive support systems such as telemetry and attitude control systems. The trick is, each of these systems needs to have some sort of exposure to the outside environment during the scientific data period, yet be sealed when they impact the ocean.

While ocean recovery has been done for essentially the entire life of the program, it has involved relatively basic systems that offered few engineering challenges. Now telescopes, telemetry systems, attitude controls systems, and even the recovery systems themselves need to be protected so they can be reflow on future missions. The end result of these developmental activities will be expanded science and vehicle options for future scientific missions. The first operational missions for this new system will be two Astrophysics flights from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 2018. While the program is moving towards higher flights on select missions, it goes without saying that the varying mission requirements will require the continued need for White Sands operations.

Sounding rockets have always been platforms that merge lead-ing edge science and education. Undergraduate and graduate students continue to work alongside Principal Investigators who are renowned scientists in their respective fields. Not only do the students collect the data necessary for their theses, they also obtain unique hands-on experience as they prepare the instruments for flight. Students work closely with sounding rocket engineers to ensure requirements are met and usually travel to the field to sup-port launch operations. Sounding rockets are arguably the best means for students to get critical real-world experience in a short amount of time - experience that makes them better engineers and scientists. The Sounding Rockets Program also continued to offer internship opportunities for undergraduate students through the NASA Sounding Rockets Operations Contract, currently managed by Orbital ATK. The interns work with engineers and other profes-sionals, and are engaged in mission critical tasks. This activity allows students to hone critical skills that make them more attractive to perspective employers. In many cases, they return to the program as experienced employees, ready to hit the road running.

The program continued to offer the RockOn! and RockSat-X student experiment opportunity through its collaboration with the Colorado and Virginia Space Grant organizations. This year represented the tenth successful RockOn! mission and the fifth RockSat-X mission. Under this program, the students built, tested, and flew experiments with various levels of complexity. The Sound-ing Rocket Program Office once again offered the Wallops Rocketry Academy for Teachers and Students (WRATS). This was the seventh year for this unique teacher training program where high school teachers spend a week leaning about rocket physics, building and launching model rockets and electronic payloads, and learning about the Wallops mission.

Once again, it has been a pleasure to have the opportunity to lead this fantastic team of dedicated professionals, who will always give their very best to complete our mission.

Table of Contents Message from the Chief 2

Solar Physics Missions 2017 6 Rapid Acquisition Imaging Spectrograph Experiment (RAISE) 8

Astrophysics Missions 2017 10 Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph - 3 (CHESS) 12

Geospace Missions 2017 15 Polar Night Nitric Oxide (POLARNOX) 16 Ionospheric Structuring: In Situ and Ground based Low Altitude StudieS (ISINGLASS) 17 Neutral Jets Associated with Auroral Arcs 18 Waves and Instabilities from a Neutral Dynamo (WINDY) 20

Education Missions 2017 22 RockOn! & RockSat-C 24 RockSat-X 28

Technology and Special Projects Missions 2017 32 Special Projects - Sub-TEC 7 34 Test & Support 35

STEM Education & Outreach 37 Wallops Rocketry Academy for Teachers and Students 38 Internships and Outreach 39

Technology Development 41 On the Horizon 47 Charts 52

Mission Success History 52 Sounding Rocket Vehicles 53 Sounding Rocket Vehicle Performance 54 Sounding Rocket Launch Sites 55 Contact Information 56 Sounding Rockets Program Office personnel 57

T e c h n o l o g y Water Recovery

Telescope instruments are frequently reused after flight and to facilitate launches over water a new vacuum shutter door, with a hydrodynamic wedge design, has been developed and tested. The new door will protect the instrument from saltwater after impact.

The Sounding Rockets Program Office (SRPO) and the NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract (NSROC) carry out NASA's sub-orbital rocket program. A fleet of vehicles acquired from military surplus or pur-chased commercially is used to carry scientific and technology payloads to altitudes between 50 and 1,500 kilometers. All payload support systems, such as Telemetry, Attitude Control, and Recovery are designed and fabricated by NSROC machinists, techni-cians and engineers. Launch operations are conduct-ed worldwide to facilitate science requirements, for example Geospace research is often conducted in the arctic from launch sites in Norway and Alaska. In-creasing mission complexities are addressed through continuous improvement in systems design and devel-opment.

NSROC Forward Ogive Recovery System (N-Forse)

N-FORSe is a new recovery system assembly housed inside the ogive front end of a payload.

Built with modern components N-FORSe is faster to assemble, lighter weight, and more cost effective than older systems.

M is s io n s

Integration and testing

Sounding Rockets Overview

The increasing complexity of sounding rocket mission profiles and payload support system requirements leads to increasingly complex integration and testing processes. Mission profiles can involve deploying sub-payloads at specific intervals in specific directions at varying velocities. Payloads with multiple science instruments may require multiple Telemetry and Attitude Control Systems. In 2017 approximately twenty payloads were integrated and tested for flight.

M a n u fa c t u r in g

G e o s p a c e S c ie n c e

E d u ca ti o n re-imbursable

Technology

Astrophysics

S o la r P h y s ic s

S p e c ia l P r o j e c t s

13%

7%

7%

7%

7%

By Discipline

The Lagun GBR5 is a Moving Table Machining Center. With an X axis travel of 197” Y axis travel 47” and Z travel 59” this is the largest milling machine in the shop. The GBR5 has a CNC controlled rotary table for doing large skin sections and will complement the Anayak milling center for the majority of the mission manifest. The machine also allows for longer launch rail sections to be milled in one set-up while maintaining tolerances.

The large table on the OMAX 80X Water Jet Machining Center allows cutting of eight foot by twelve foot sheets of raw material up to six inches thick. The additional OMAX Water Jet creates another “Machine Cell” where one operator keeps two machines running concurrently. This efficiency drives an increase of production output.

One Solar Physics mission, Rapid Acquisition Imaging Spectrograph Experiment (RAISE), was flown in 2017. RAISE took over 1,500 spectral images of the Sun during the 15-minute sub-orbital flight.

The scientific research focused on the Sun's Chromosphere, Corona and the Transition Region (the region between the two layers).

Solar Physics Missions 2017

Coronal loops are bright, curving structures that appear as arcs above the Sun's surface.

Hot plasma causes these loops to glow. The electrified plasma flows along the curving lines of powerful magnetic fields, giving the coronal loops their characteristic shapes. Imaged by the TRACE spacecraft.

Jets, known as spicules, were captured in a Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) image on April 25, 2010. Spicules are short-lived jets of hot gas that shoot into the corona at more than 100,000 km per hour from the chromosphere below. Alfvénic waves have been discovered at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and X-ray wavelengths in the spicules. The waves are more than 100 times more intense than those previously measured, and could further our understanding of coronal heating.

Convection Zone

Radiative Zone

Inner Core

Subsurface flow s

Photosphere Chromosphere

Corona

Rapid Acquisition Imaging Spectrograph Experiment (RAISE)

The primary scientific objectives of the RAISE experiment focus on three areas; small-scale dynamics of coronal loops, the nature of high-frequency waves in the solar atmosphere and the nature of transient brightenings in the solar network. Each of these objectives are important to our understanding of the mechanisms of energy conversion in the solar atmosphere. RAISE images two different spectral bands in the Extreme Ultraviolet, 1st-order 1205-1243 Å and 1526-1564 Å, onto two intensified Active Pixel Sensor (APS) detectors.

Examples of emission lines in these bands are H I Lyman α emitting at

1215.7 Å and Si II, silicon with one electron freed, emitting at 1533 Å.

Electromagnetic Radiation

Most of the radiation emitted by the Sun is blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere.

In order to study the Sun at these wavelengths, instruments have to be placed in space. Spacecraft such as the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) include multispectral instruments and have mission durations of several years. Sounding rockets are used for both fundamental science exploration, development of future technologies for spacecraft. Additionally an instrument can be launched at a predetermined time and location, as demonstrated with the RAISE mission that coordinated observations with the SDO. This type of coordination can augment and or calibrate satellite research. With short mission lead times and lower cost, sounding rockets enable world class science discovery.

Instruments for Solar Physics

Spectrographs are commonly used instruments for solar physics. A spectrograph measures radiation intensity as a function of wavelength. All elements in the periodic table have associated characteristic spectra. When energy is added to an element, i.e., when electrons in an atom are excited and then transition back from this excited state to their ground energy levels, they emit radiation at specific wavelengths. Scientists have cataloged spectral wavelengths of the elements and use that information to determine the presence of these elements in the Sun and other stars. Elements found on the Sun, using spectroscopy, include hydrogen and helium with smaller amounts of other elements such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, neon, magnesium, silicone, sulfur, and iron.

Knowing which elements are present, and their ionization temperatures, allows scientists to determine the temperature of the various regions of the Sun. To ionize an atom enough energy has to be added to free electron(s) from the atom. For example iron, which in its neutral state has 26 electrons (Fe I), temperatures around 600,000 Kelvin create ions of Fe IX where eight electrons are freed. This process emits EUV radiation at a wavelength of 171 Å.

Bright point (boxed) captured by the AIA instrument onboard the SDO spacecraft at 171 Å. Solar atmospheric coronal and transition region bright points (BPs) are compact features overlying strong concentrations of magnetic flux. These bright points are thought to contribute to coronal heating from cooler atmospheric layers, as they may provide injection of mass, energy, and rotation into the heliosphere.

R ap id A c q u is it io n Im ag in g S pe c tr o g ra ph E xp er im en t (R

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Principal Investigator: Dr. Donald Hassler/SWRI • Mission Number(s): 36.309 US Launch site: White Sands Missile Range, NM • Launch date: May 5, 2017

The primary scientific objectives of the experiment focus on three areas that are accessible only with the instrument’s unique capabilities and can be advanced with a single flight with six minutes of observation time: Small-scale dy namics of coronal loops, the nature of high-frequency waves in the solar atmosphere and the nature of tran sient brightenings in the solar network. Each of these objectives is intended to answer specific questions that are important to our under-standing of the mechanisms of energy conversion in the solar atmosphere. For example, how are temperature and velocity related in hot loop structures? And are there high-frequency waves in the solar atmosphere with sufficient energy to heat the corona or accelerate the solar wind?

Specific science questions for flight 36.309 US were:

• Multi-Thermal Plasma Dynamics

- How are temperature and velocity linked in active region and quiet sun loops?

- Dynamics of ubiquitous helical loop structures?

• High Frequency Waves in the Lower Solar Atmosphere

- How do high-frequency Alfven and magneto-acoustic waves relate to magnetic structure?

• Magnetic Carpet and Small Scale Energy Release in Solar Network

- What drives small scale energy release in the sun? What are the observed small scale jet-like motions:

shocks or jets?

RAISE imaged two different spectral bands in the Extreme Ultraviolet, 1st-order 1205-1243 Å and 1526-1564

Å, onto two intensified Active Pixel Sensor (APS) detectors. The telescope and grating are coated with B4C, boron carbide, to enhance short wavelength (2nd order) reflectance enabling the instrument to record the brightest lines between 602-622 Å and 761-780 Å at the same time.

UV/EUV lines and continuum as a function of wavelength and formation temperature. Shaded region shows the RAISE spectrograph wavelength coverage.

RAISE Spectral Coverage

RAISE at Whte Sands Missile Range, NM before flight.

Rapid Acquisition Imaging Spectrograph Experiment (RAISE)

Strong emission lines for elements in the RAISE spectral bands:

H I Ly α 1215.7 Å

Fe II 1563.8 Å

Si II 1533.4 Å

Si III 1206.5 Å

C IV 1548.2 Å

N IV 765.1 Å

N V 1238.8 Å

Ne VIII 770.4 Å

Mg X 609.8 Å

Fe XII 1242.1 Å

During flight, manual uplink commands were used to independently select both the SPARCS scan type (3 arcmin wide scan, 45 arcsec nar-row scan field-of-views, or fixed slit), as well as observing cadences (1, 5 and 8 Hz). Figure 1 shows the wide scan FOV superposed on an SDO/

AIA 304 image taken roughly 3 minutes before launch. Although there was an alignment shift during launch, which resulted in a pointing offset away from the target Active Region (AR12654), Quiet Sun data is adequate for our science objectives. The spectra obtained from this flight are the highest cadence UV spectra of the Sun taken to date!

Spectroheliograms and Dopplergrams A reconstructed spectroheliogram of a portion of the Ly-α wide scan data is shown in Figure 2 (right). The intensity of each raster position is represented by each column in the image. The 180 position image was generated from 36 seconds of RAISE rasters and is the fastest solar UV spectroheliogram acquired to date. Further analysis of the flight data, includ-ing spectroheliograms of the Si II and other (weaker) lines, as well as even higher cadence narrow scan data (9 second scans) is ongoing.

Fixed-slit observations Sixty-seven (67) seconds of the RAISE 36.309 flight data were taken while the SPARCS pointing system was in a fixed-slit observing mode. These data will be used primarily for the analysis of the high-frequency wave spectrum in the solar chromosphere and transition region.

Complete data reduction, analysis and publication of the results is ongoing.

Figure 1: Sample RAISE Ly-α wide-scan spectroheliogram taken at 18:31 UT overlayed onto co-temporal SDO/AIA 304Å full-disk image (18:28:18 UT).

Figure 2: RAISE Spectroheliogram (left) and Dopplergram (right) from multiple Ly-α wide raster scans. Dark regions separate scans.

Astrophysics Missions 2017

Hydrogen absorption spectra in visible wavelengths.

Hydrogen emission spectra in visible wavelengths.

Continuos spectra are created by hot opaque objects.

An absorption spectrum is created when energy from a hot opaque object travels through cooler transparent gas.

Hot transparent gas, such as gaseous nebulae, create emission spectra.

Electromagnetic Radiation

Visible light is what we are most familiar with on Earth. Visible light ranges in wavelength from 400 nm to 700 nm, with violet being the shortest wavelength and red the longest. Absorption and emission spectra of objects in the Universe reveal information about the elements present, the temperature, and density of those elements and the presence of a magnetic field and many other variables.

High energy and high temperature processes in the Universe radiate in the Ultraviolet part of the spectrum. Knowledge of star formation and evolution, growth of structure in the Universe, physics of jet phenomena on many scales, aurora on and atmospheric composition of the gas giant planets, and of the physics of protoplanetary disks has been expanded through UV observations.

To emit X-rays, gas must be under extreme conditions, such as temperatures of millions of degrees, superstrong magnetic fields, or electrons must be moving at nearly the speed of light. Extreme conditions can be found in disks of matter orbiting black holes or in supernova remnants. X-rays are classified into two types: soft X-rays and hard X-rays. Soft X-rays fall in the range of the EM spectrum between (UV) light and gamma-rays. Hard X-rays are very close to gamma-rays. The only difference between them is their source: X-rays are produced by accelerating electrons, while gamma-rays are produced by atomic nuclei.

Astrophysics seeks to understand the universe and our place in it and aims to discover how the universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars. In 2017 one Astrophysics mission, Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (CHESS) 3, was flown. This was the third flight for CHESS.

Spectrometers and telescopes are frequently flown onboard sounding rockets for Astrophysics research. Telescopes focus the incoming radiation from a target object and spectrometers spread light out into specific wavelengths creating a spectra.

All atoms and molecules have characteristic spectra that produce absorption or emission lines at specific wavelengths. This allows scientists to extract information about composition, temperature, and other variables of the astronomical target of their study.

Emission line spectra are created when an electron drops down to a lower orbit around the nucleus of an atom and loses energy.

Absorption line spectra occur when electrons move to a higher orbit by absorbing energy.

Scientists analyze the spectra and deduce which elements are present in the gas cloud due to the lack of energy at wavelengths corresponding to specific elements.

CHESS raw data is downlinked to the groundstation through telem-etry. During the flight, graduate students monitor the data and uplink final pointing commands to the payload.

Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph (CHESS) 3

CHESS-3 studied translucent clouds in the interstellar medium (ISM) and measured the composition, motion and temperature of this interstellar material in unprecedented detail. CHESS-3 also took a snapshot of the raw materials available that were needed to develop planets, such as, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. High-resolution absorption line spectroscopy when looking toward hot stars, such as b Scorpii (Beta Scorpii) the target for CHESS-3, provides a rich set of diagnostics with which to simultaneously measure the temperature, composition, and velocity fields of the solar neighborhood.

Absorption spectra are created when radiation from an object travels through a gas, such as a nebula, or in the case of CHESS, a translucent cloud in the ISM. The gas absorbs some of the wavelenghts of energy leading to dark bands in the spectrum. For example, molecular hydrogen (H2) has a system of absorption lines near 1100 Å (110 nm), a wavelength where the Hubble Space Telescope does not have high-resolution spectroscopic capability. H2 traces cool molecular material (100 K), and makes up 99.99% of the total molecular gas in the Galaxy. If H2 is present in the cloud that the starlight passes through, the spectrograph will show less energy at wavelengths near 1100 Å. The CHESS spectrograph measures energies in the Far-Ultraviolet part of the spectrum, 1000 - 1600 Angstrom. This covers wave-lengths of, for example, Oxygen VI, H2, several levels of ionized Carbon, Fe II and Mg II (once ionized Iron and Magnesium). These spectral features tell us about the physical and chemical state of the ISM and provide the initial conditions for future generations of star and planet formation.

This spectrum extracted from raw CHESS flight data shows interstellar absorption features of molecular Hydrogen (red line in the graph).

ß Scorpii Energy created through nuclear reactions is radi-ated by the star at many wavelengths. .

Some wavelengths of energy are absorbed by gas that the light travels through.

The spectrograph separates radiation into wavelengths.

C o lo ra do

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E c h el le S te ll ar S pe c tr o g ra p h

C H E S S

Principal Investigator: Dr. Kevin France/University of Colorado - Mission Number(s): 36.323 UG Launch site: White Sands Missile Range, NM - Launch date: June 27, 2017

NASA and the University of Colorado at Boulder col-laborated to launch an astrophysics experiment into

Earth’s near-space environment in order to study the life-cycle of stars in our Milky Way galaxy. The NASA/CU

36.323 UG – France mission launched off of the Athena

launcher at Launch Complex 36, White Sands Missile

Range, 05:10 Z, 27 June 2017. The CHESS-3 instrument acquired data on sightline to the hot star Beta Scorpii.

The payload was successfully recovered. Comprehensive success was achieved for 36.323 UG.

CHESS was designed to study the interstellar medium (ISM), the matter between stars, and specifically translu-cent clouds of gas which provide fundamental building blocks for star and planet formation. These clouds have very low densities and the only way to study them is to measure absorption spectra of light from stars passing through the cloud. CHESS was pointed at the star Beta Scorpii, in the constellation Scorpius. When radiation from this star travels through the cloud some wavelenghts of energy are absorbed by the cloud. The absorbed wavelengths indicate the presence of specific elements, all of which have their unique spectral signatures. This allows scientists to take a snapshot of the raw materials available, such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, that are needed to build future generations of stars and planets. The CHESS spectrograph enables the

University of Colorado team to also quantify the temperature and motions of the clouds along the line of sight.

Almost all of the target absorption lines were detected by the CHESS instrument, ranging from cool molecular gas (H2, T ~ 100 K) to Si IV (three times ionized silicon, T ~ 60,000 K).

During this flight two 160 second science images were taken during the CHESS-3 mission. Additionally, a bias frame exposure, directly after payload de-spin and separation, and a 160 second dark image, after the shutter door closure, were made.

CHESS and the follow on mission under development, Suborbital Imaging Spectrograph for Transition region

Irradiance from Nearby Exoplanet host stars (SISTINE), also are pathfinders and technology demonstrators for an ultraviolet spectrograph for the NASA exoplanet/cosmic origins mission, Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LU-

VOIR), currently under study. The LUVOIR Ultraviolet

Multi-Object Spectrograph (LUMOS) is being led by Dr.

France's team at the University of Colorado and would address topics ranging from characterizing the composi-tion and structure of planet-forming disks to the feedback of matter between galaxies and the intergalactic medium.

Link: http://cos.colorado.edu/~kevinf/

Colorado University science team at White Sands Missile Range.

CHESS payload with recovery team after flight.

Colorado High-resolution Echelle Stellar Spectrograph - 3 (CHESS)

CHESS-3 ready to launch at White Sands Missile Range, NM.

Polar Night Nitric Oxide

(POLARNOX)

The overall goal of PolarNOx was to determine the altitude profile of nitric oxide (NO) in the polar night.

NO is created by aurora. In a sunlit atmosphere, NO would be destroyed in about one day. But in the polar night it is expected that the NO abundance can grow to large values. Nitric oxide under appropriate conditions can be transported to the stratosphere where it will catalytically destroy ozone.

Those changes in ozone can lead to changes in stratospheric temperature and wind and may even impact the circulation at the Earth’s surface.

Ionospheric Structuring: In Situ and Ground based Low Altitude StudieS

(ISINGLASS)

The visible light produced in the atmosphere as aurora is the last step of a chain of processes connecting the solar wind to the atmosphere. The data collected with the ISINGLASS mission will aid in understanding what structure in these visible signatures can tell us about the electrodynamics of processes higher up.

Geospace science focuses on the study of interactions between Earth and the space environment surrounding our planet. Part of the broader research discipline, Heliophysics, geospace scientists study Sun-Earth connections such as effects of the sun and solar wind on the Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere.

Sounding rockets are uniquely suited for many geospace research applications due to their ability to take direct measurements in focused events, such as the aurora, regions of space above thunderstorms, ionospheric turbulence, noctilucent clouds, and the cusp, to name a few. In addition, sounding rockets are the only means to gather direct measurements in the region of space between roughly 40-150 km which is too high for balloon and too low for satellite direct measurements.

The aurora borealis, or northern lights, created when charged particles are accelerated in the magnetosphere by solar wind driven electric fields, are frequently studied with sounding rockets. Near the geomagnetic poles, the near vertical magnetic field lines extend upwards, through the upper atmosphere, allowing the downcoming energetic particles to interact with the neutral atoms of mostly oxygen and nitrogen. The energetic charged particles, mostly electrons, energize the atoms by exciting their electrons, causing them to move to a higher energy level. This higher energy level is not stable and when its electron transits back to its initial level, a photon is emitted, causing the auroral light show. High energy electrons cause oxygen to emit green light, while lower energy electrons cause a red light emission. Nitrogen generally gives off a violet-blue light.

The higher level is unstable and when the electron transits back it releases energy by emitting a photon, thus creating the auroral light.

Electrons in the gas atom or molecule (mostly oxygen and nitrogen) are energized and move to a higher level around the nucleus

Incoming energetic particles (mostly electrons) collide with atmospheric gases.

Re d

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Red Aurora emitted by oxygen at 630 nm.

Green Aurora emitted by oxygen at

577.7 nm.

Violet-Blue Aurora emitted by nitrogen at

427.8 nm.

Light Emission

Geospace Missions

In addition to the Sun’s radiation, the Sun also send particles and fields toward the Earth which compose the solar wind, a stream of electrically charged particles (mostly protons and electrons) flowing out, away from the Sun. The Earth’s magnetic field forms the magnetosphere envelope which deflects most of this stream of solar wind particles and energy. The solar wind/magnetosphere interaction does set up large electric fields which accelerate particles which are generally guided along the magnetic field from the nightside of the magnetosphere into the upper atmosphere at high latitudes where they produce the visible aurora. A different type of aurora, the cusp aurora, is produced when energetic particles directly from the solar wind are accelerated downward into the upper atmosphere on the dayside near the poles.

The graphic shows Earth’s atmosphere layers and types of solar radiation as well as the altitudes where the various energies are absorbed. On the right is a depiction of the daytime ionosphere (in red) and chemical composition (in yellow, green, and blue) of the principal components of the neutral upper atmosphere, which is primarily composed of molecular oxygen, nitrogen, and atomic oxygen. This region of the upper atmosphere attains high temperatures, as shown on the left hand side, and is called the thermosphere.

The ionosphere is created by the ionization of the neutral atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere which results from the Sun’s extreme ultraviolet light. This extreme ultraviolet light knocks electrons off the gas atoms and molecules, leading to a gas of electrically charged particles of ions and electrons, which exist in the same volume as the thermosphere above about 100 km altitude.

Sounding rockets enable detailed studies of the ionosphere/thermosphere. This region is absolutely critical for understanding our planet and the space surrounding it.

Neutral Jets Associated with Auroral Arcs

The Auroral Jets experiment investigated whether the increased plasma density along an auroral arc undergoes enhanced collisions with the neutral atmosphere such that the magnetospheric electric fields which drive the plasma flow might also create discrete neutral streams or “jets” along the auroral “ribbon” or arc. These rockets were launched over a discrete auroral arc and recorded clear neutral “jets” by both the neutral wind insruments on the rockets and the vapor trail experiment. The combined, comprehensive data sets thus enable an in-depth study of a fundamental natural process involving the localized response of the earth’s upper atmosphere to the aurora and its associated driving DC electric fields and energetic particles originating in the magnetosphere.

Waves and Instabilities from a Neutral Dynamo (WINDY)

Two rockets were part of the Waves and Instabilities from a Neutral Dynamo (WINDY) mission. WINDY was designed to study a phenomenon referred to as equatorial spread F (ESF). ESF dis turbances occur in the F region of the ionosphere post sunset at latitudes near the equator. ESF disturbances interfere with radio communication, navigation, and imaging systems and pose a hazard to technology and a society that depends on it.

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Principal Investigator: Dr. Scott Bailey/Virginia Tech • Mission Number(s): 36.302 UE Launch site: Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska • Launch date: January 27, 2017

The overall goal of PolarNOx was to determine the altitude profile of nitric oxide (NO) in the polar night. NO is created by aurora. In a sunlit atmosphere, NO would be destroyed in about one day. But in the polar night it is expected that the NO abundance can grow to large values.

At present we a have a poor understanding of how much

NO is produced in the aurora and how it is distributed in altitude. We know that in some years, the polar night NO is transported to lower altitudes where it catalytically (i.e. very efficiently) destroys ozone. When this happens, the effects are significant as the temperature at that altitude is increased and the circulation can be altered. Thus we have a need to understand NO, its abundance, and its altitude distribution.

We measure that by using a star as a light source and observ-ing attenuation of the star light by NO. A rocket is needed because NO absorbs only ultraviolet light, which does not travel through air near the surface, so the measurement must be made from space.

The PolarNOx investigation was launched on Terrier-Brant rocket 36.302 on January 27, 2017 to an altitude of 283 km.

NO can under appropriate conditions be transported to the stratosphere where it will catalytically destroy ozone.

PolarNOx instrument alignment.

Polar Night Nitric Oxide (POLARNOX)

Io no sp h er ic S tr u c tu r in g

In S it u a nd G r o u nd b as ed L o w A lt it u de

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Principal Investigator: Dr. Kristina Lynch/Dartmouth College • Mission Number(s): 36.303 & 36.304 UE Launch site: Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska • Launch date(s): February 22 & March 1, 2017

The ISINGLASS sounding rocket mission was designed to sam-ple multiple locations simultaneously in the auroral ionosphere to measure the ionospheric plasma flow field. Two identical rockets were flown into two separate auroral events; each rocket carried a large sub-payload, and four small deployable payloads called

Bobs. A door malfunction on the first flight prevented the Bob deployment; on the second flight, the four Bobs deployed cleanly and returned science data throughout the flight.

The in situ measurements of ionospheric plasma from multiple locations will be stitched together using ground based measure-ments and data assimilation. The information gained in this process is also being applied to a CubeSat swarm mission design concept, to sample the aurora via localized multipoint measurements on orbital spacecraft in the context of ground based observations.

For ISINGLASS the multipoint auroral measurements were made using the Petite Ion Probe (PIP) retarding potential analyzer sensor. The PIPs were carried by four deployable payloads known as Bobs. The Bob payloads ejected from the (second) main payload with springs. Data from the separable payloads were transmitted back to the Bob-mains onboard the main payload. In addition, six PIPs were carried by each main payload, and their data stream passed to Wallops TM through onboard Arduinos and the Dartmouth-student-designed "Bob-shield” boards. The main payload also carried an auroral precipitation sensor Acute Precipitating Electron Spec-trometer (APES), a scientific magnetometer, and a thermal electron plasma sensor, Electron Retarding Potential

Analyzer (ERPA). A Cornell COWBOY electric field payload completed each array. A significant ground-based sensor array, including the use of PFISR, and filtered ground cameras at various sites, and a modelling/ assimila-tion analysis, completed the mission.

Deployment testing of sub-payloads.

The ISINGLASS science team in the Science Operations Center (SOC) at Poker Flat Rocket Range, during the campaign.

Ionospheric Structuring: In Situ and Ground based Low Altitude StudieS (ISINGLASS)

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J et s A ss o c ia te d w it h A u r o ra l A r c s

Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Pfaff/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center • Mission Number(s): 36.301 & 36.306 GE Launch site: Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska • Launch date: March 1, 2017

Background and Scientific Motivation At high latitudes, energy and momentum from the very high altitude magnetosphere is guided down to lower altitudes by the earth’s magnetic field where they “impinge” on the ionosphere/upper atmosphere, often with profound effects. In particular, electric fields and energetic electrons respectively set the ionosphere in motion and interact with the neutral gases creating the aurora and subsequent layers of enhanced ionospheric density or

“thermal plasma”. These ionosphere movements or drifts, in turn, set the neutral gases in motion via collisions between the ion and neutral gases which occupy the same volume.

When these two phenomena -- enhanced ionospheric motions and auroral arcs -- occur in the same loca-tion for an extended period of time, scientists have theorized that neutral streams or “jets” might be set up along the auroral arcs (Figure 1.) The idea is that the regions of increased plasma density along the auroral arc will undergo enhanced collisions with the neutral atmosphere and since that plasma density is set in motion by the electric fields, it would be expected to subsequently set up discrete motions of neutral gas along the auroral “ribbon”.

With this hypothesis as motivation, the main objective of the Auroral Jets investigation is to understand the height dependent coupling processes associated with auroral arcs and to determine if these processes create localized neutral “jets” in the upper atmosphere associated with the aurora. In turn, the rocket instrumentation will determine their driving conditions and associated heating and neutral structuring.

Experiment The auroral neutral jets experiments consisted of two rockets launched nearly simultaneously to different alti-tudes over a stable auroral arc. The high and low altitude platforms were designed to determine the auroral jet characteristics, the background conditions and the driving electric field and particle input.

Each rocket was instrumented with plasma and neutral gas detectors as well as electric field and magnetic field detectors (Figure 2). Furthermore, the low flyer rocket released a vapor trail which was used to reveal the motions of the ambient neutral atmosphere along the rocket trajectory. Variations of these motions within the auroral arc region would thus show definitive evidence of the neutral “jets”.

Figure 1: Computer simulation of atmospheric “winds” along an auroral arc.[Model by R. Walterscheid, Aerospace Corp.]

Upper Atmosphere “Jet”

Figure 2: Auroral Jets electric field experiments are checked out at Poker Flat prior to put on the rail

Neutral Jets Associated with Auroral Arcs

Finally, the experiment was carried out in conjunction with simultaneous measurements by a ground-based imaging Fabry-Perot system provided and operated by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, which was used to determine the large scale neutral winds down-range from Poker Flat where the rockets flew, thus providing the background condi-tions and helping to determine the decision to launch the rockets.

The Auroral Jets Rocket Launches and Initial Results With clear skies and good auroral conditions, NASA successfully launched the two

Auroral jets sounding rockets from Poker Flat, Alaska on March 2, 2017 within 90 seconds of each other (Figure 3). The rockets were launched over an auroral arc, which was relatively stable for about 30 minutes, as measured by ground-based all sky cameras located at Poker Flat and downrange at Ft. Yukon.

The high flyer rocket, Terrier-Black Brant 36.301, achieved an apogee of 331 km and the low flyer rocket, Terrier-Black

Brant 36.306, achieved an apogee of 190 km. Both rocket vehicles, the payload sub-systems, and the scientific instru-ments all worked flawlessly.

The vapor trails, provided by Clemson University, revealed very clear evidence of the neutral winds and “jet” associated with the auroral arc (Figure 4). Triangulation from various camera sites set up at Poker Flat and downrange permit detailed, accurate measurements of the time history of the winds from photographs such as this one.

Furthermore, wind profiles were also measured in situ using instruments on the rocket payloads provided by the Aerospace Corporation which also revealed enhanced atmospheric motions or jets associated with the auroral arc on both the upleg and downleg (Figure 5).

These measurements are being analyzed in conjunction with the detailed electric field, ener-getic particle, and magnetic field current measurements gathered on both rockets.

The combined, comprehensive data sets thus enable an in-depth study of a fundamental natural process involving the localized response of the earth’s upper atmosphere to the aurora and its associated driving DC electric fields and energetic particles originating in the magnetosphere.

Figure 4: Neutral Flow from TMA Trail -- Shows auroral “jet” and aurora.

Exposure at 05:49:20 U.T. Data from Prof. M. Larsen, Clemson University

Figure 3: Two Auroral Jets rocket launched 90 seconds apart over an auroral arc

Figure 5: Neutral winds measured along upleg and downleg show ”Jet” where arc was located. Data from instruments on the low flyer rocket provided by the Aerospace Corp.

W av es a nd I ns ta b il it ie s fr o m a

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D yn am o W

IN

D Y)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Hysell/Cornell University • Mission Number(s): 29.042 & 36.321 UE Launch site: Kwajalein, Marshall Islands • Launch date(s): September 9, 2017

Two rockets were part of the Waves and Instabilities from a Neutral Dynamo (WINDY) mission. The Black

Brant IX sounding rocket was successfully launched at

7:34 a.m. EDT (11:34 p.m. local time) on September

9 and was followed five minutes later by a Terrier-

Improved Malemute rocket. The first rocket flew to approximately 254-miles altitude and released its tri-methyl aluminum (TMA) and lithium, forming vapors to allow scientists to measure the winds and energetic particles that are in motion in the upper atmosphere.

The second rocket, carrying instruments to measure densities and electric and magnetic fields in the iono-spheric disturbance, did not obtain useful data.

WINDY was designed to study a phenomenon referred to as equatorial spread F (ESF). ESF dis turbances occur in the F region of the ionosphere post sunset at latitudes near the equator. ESF disturbances interfere with radio communication, navigation, and imaging systems and pose a hazard to technology and a society that depends on it.

The ionosphere is defined as the layer of the Earth’s atmosphere that is ionized by solar and cosmic radiation.

Ionization oc curs when incoming energetic radiation strips electrons from atoms and molecules, creating temporarily charged particles. The nighttime ionosphere has two layers, E and F. Disturbances in the F layer, the layer studied by WINDY, degrade radio and radar signals at low magnetic latitudes. Predicting when these disturbances will occur would improve the reliability of space-borne and ground-based communication systems.

WINDY will attempt to answer questions about the origin, i.e. the events preceding a disturbance, of ESF by measuring the influence of horizontal thermospheric winds on the formation of ESF, as well as, taking measure-ments of ionospheric densities and electric and magnetic fields.

Payload preparation in Kwajalein.

Black Brant IX launches from Roi Namur.

Waves and Instabilities from a Neutral Dynamo (WINDY)

An important element of these experiments involves measure ments of the atmospheric winds at high altitudes.

Just as on the ground, winds at very high altitudes carry a tremendous amount of energy and are known to have a direct effect on the iono spheric disruptions that are the focus of WINDY. Wind measure ments at these altitudes are difficult because of the very low atmospheric density. Over the past five decades, several tracer techniques have been perfected to accomplish this by opti cal tracking of visible gases released from the rockets.

Lithium vapor and trimethyl aluminum (TMA) gas have been particularly effective. TMA reacts spontane-ously on contact with oxygen to produce a pale white glow visible from the ground. For the WINDY mission, sunlight reflected by the Moon will illuminate the lithium, producing an emission that can be detected with cam eras equipped with narrow-band filters. Using moonlight for illumination allows the launches to occur later in the evening, when the critical ESF conditions occur. Both gases, which are harmless when released at these al-titudes, move with the background atmosphere and can therefore be used to determine the wind speeds and di-rection over the height ranges where the releases occur. Both clouds remained in the night sky for ap proximately

30 minutes after launch.

Data from the ARPA Long-Range Tracking and Instrumentation Radar (ALTAIR) was used to monitor the state of the upper atmosphere/ionosphere in order to determine when the large-scale disruptions occur and thus when to launch the rockets. ALTAIR was also be used to monitor the evo lution of the ESF after the launches.

Education Missions

RockOn!

Level 1

RockSat-X Level 2 Level 3 RockSat-C

RockSat-C and RockOn! experiments share payload space, but RockSat-C experiments are designed and built by students at their home institutions and brought to Wallops for integra-tion with the payload. Students participate in payload integration and testing activities and view the launch of their payload on Wallops Island.

The most advanced of the student flight opportunities, RockSat-X offers sounding rocket payload support systems, such as power, telemetry, de-spin, attitude con-trol, and deployable skins to expose the experiments to the space environment.

Students are responsible for completing the design and construction of their ex-periment and attend integration, testing and launch activities at Wallops.

RockOn! is the first level student sounding rocket experiment. Teams of students and faculty experience first hand the full scope of a sounding rocket mission, all accomplished during a one week workshop. Participants build, test, and integrate sensors, and program an Arduino based datalogger. Students attend the launch of their experiments before the end of the workshop.

R o c kO n!

R o c kS at -C

Principal Investigator: Mr. Chris Koehler/Colorado Space Grant Consortium• Mission Number(s): 41.121 UO Launch site: Wallops Island, VA • Launch date: June 22, 2017

The RockOn! workshop was held at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, June 17 - 22, 2017. Seventy-one students and faculty members participated in this year's workshop, which was the tenth since the inception of the pro-gram in 2008. RockSat-C experiments are flown in the same rocket as the workshop experiments but are more advanced and completely designed and fabricated by the students. Ninty-three students participated in the

RockSat-C flight opportunity.

The chart above shows the workflow for the RockOn! and RockSat-C programs.

1. RockOn! workshop participants build their experiment during the workshop.

2. All materials and instructions are provided to complete the experiment.

3. Experiment decks are stacked on an internal structure that accommodates five decks.

4. Experiment stacks are housed in canisters (RockOn!). RockSat-C experiments are not board based but are also housed in canisters.

5. All canisters are integrated with the payload structure.

6. Payload is tested prior to flight. Tests include Moments of Inertia measurement (roll moment measure-ment shown in picture), vibration, and balancing.

7. Payload is launched with a two-stage Terrier-Improved Orion sounding rocket…