NewsPositively Hampton Roads

Actions

Watch: College students send projects into space from NASA Wallops Flight Facility

Posted at 5:49 AM, Aug 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-12 05:59:43-04

WALLOPS ISLAND – Blastoff! University and community college students from across the country sent projects into space from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Monday morning.

NASA said the projects are a mix of technology and science experiments including developing spacecraft reentry and thermal protection systems, measuring cosmic rays and gathering organic molecules in space for DNA sequencing,

The launch of the 44-foot tall rocket happened around 5:45 a.m.

After flying to around 91 miles altitude, the payload, with the experiments, will descend by parachute and is expected to land 15 minutes after launch in the Atlantic Ocean, about 64 miles off the Virginia coast.

The experiments and any stored data will be provided to the students later in the day following sea recovery of the payload.