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Sounding rocket launches from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility

Posted at 6:53 AM, May 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-16 06:53:25-04

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.