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Wallops Island — The rocket folks at Wallops are hoping No. 6 is the charm for a launch that could give locals a special show.
Originally scheduled for May 8, it’s been scrubbed five times, mostly because of weather. The latest holdup was caused by a man-made incident during Wednesday’s preparations when the rocket was accidentally bumped into a support on the launcher.
If inspections reveal no damage, the next countdown will begin Saturday at 8:10 p.m.
The rocket, called a Black Brant XII, is the ride for a suborbital science experiment that might give Earthlings a glimpse of some alien-looking clouds. Created by the release of vapor, the clouds will appear in two puffs of green-violet, visible for about 30 seconds.
The vapor, made of harmless barium, will be released at an altitude of 217-249 miles over the Atlantic Ocean and 540-560 miles downrange of the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, which is located on Virginia’s upper Eastern Shore.
Keith Koehler, Wallops’ news chief, said weather delays are typical with missions like this, “but we realize everybody’s frustrations.”
Wallops regularly launches such missions — known as sounding rockets — but not all include a vapor payload or the bonus of colorful clouds, which may be spotted from along much of the East Coast and as far inland as the Mississippi River.
The experiment is designed to study how energy and momentum are transported between different regions of space. The vapor’s kinetics will be monitored by aircraft, Wallops and a station in Bermuda.
“So, a lot of things have to line up,” said Koehler, not just the right conditions for rockets and airplanes but enough visibility to view the vapor’s action.
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Clouds and turbulence were the main spoilers last week, with winds at 35,000-40,000 feet howling as high as 140 mph.
“It’s just been a rainy, windy spring,” Koehler said, with a “low-level jet stream that’s unfortunately been sitting right over top of us.”
Sunday is the deadline for blast off.
“We’re trying to get that time extended,” Koehler said, “but it’s based on certain conditions — like sunset, moonrise — so it’s not like we can just keep on going.”
Watch for updates on Wallops’ Facebook and Twitter feed. The window for Saturday’s attempt will stay open until 8:50 p.m.
If it goes off, the vapor should be released approximately 10 minutes after launch.
Joanne Kimberlin, 757-446-2338, joanne.kimberlin@pilotonline.com