Rocket launch set for Saturday at Wallops

By Linda Cicoira

A two-stage suborbital sounding rocket is scheduled for lift-off Saturday, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. T

he Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket is set to be launched between 4 and 7 p.m., Sept. 11. The backup launch date is Sunday, Sept. 12.      

The flight is part of the HOT Shot program, short for High Operational Tempo, which collects scientific data that benefits aerospace research and informs future weapon designs for the U.S. nuclear enterprise. Its non-nuclear scientific experiments evaluate prototypes and help develop high-fidelity computer models and mechanical flight simulators.      

Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 3:40 p.m., on the Wallops YouTube channel. Launch updates will be available on Facebook and Twitter.    

The rocket launch is expected to be visible from the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland and southern Delaware. The NASA Visitor Center, at Wallops, will not be open for viewing the launch.

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