WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. – NASA successfully launched a 56-foot-tall sounding rocket from Wallops Flight Facility on Tuesday morning.
The Black Brant IX rocket was launched as part of the SubTec-7 mission to test two capabilities for sounding rocket missions to improve payload recovery systems, according to NASA.
The first goal is to test a shutter door system allowing for the recovery of a telescope payload in water environments. The second goal is to update electronic and mechanical systems
The rocket carried a nearly 1,200-pound payload which descended by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean about 106 miles from Wallops Island after an approximately 17-minute flight.
