HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN TO LAUNCH?

NASA Student Involvement Program
    Every time a rocket is launched, there are several factors that need to be considered to ensure that the conditions are right for a perfect flight!  Depending on the experiments that are on-board the rocket, a different set of "launch criteria" are needed to be satisfied.  So, what are the launch criteria for this set of experiments?  

PREDICTED LAUNCH PROFILE

VIEW THE CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS

Launch Site:  Wallops Island, Virginia
Recovery Area:  Atlantic Ocean
Ariel view:  launch site More views

LAUNCH CRITERIA

    Operations at the Launch Pad will be suspended if....
 ... Potential forecast within 10 miles of launch site includes heavy winds, rain, or low cloud cover.
 

... Maximum surface winds may not exceed 9.1 meters per second (30 feet per second) (20.45 mph)
 

...  Lightning is detected within 15 miles of launch site.
Conditions required at landing site....
... Cloud ceiling les than 5000 feet
... Visibility greater than 1 mile
... Sea state less than 4 feet
... Surface winds less than 9.14 m/s (30 f/s)
... Surface wind variability not to exceed  + 1.52 m/s (+5 f/s)

SUCCESS CRITERIA
The success of this mission will be determined as follows:
   
Minimum: Successful launch and payload recovery
Comprehensive: Data is obtained from four experiments

 

Home Page

You Decide When To  Launch

 The Experiments and Teams Launch Criteria Launch Process