21.138, 36.234, 41.064 & 41.065/Larsen/Clemson University 1-23-2007

sounding rockets on the launchers in Poker FlatFour sounding rockets, all part of the JOULE II mission, were launched on January 19, 2007. The NASA sounding rockets, two Terrier Orions, a Black Brant V and a Terrier Black Brant, were launched in pairs. The first pair was launched one minute apart, followed 15 minutes later by the second pair, also launched one minute apart. Each series consisted of one rocket with instruments to read the detailed structure of the electrical currents within the aurora, while a second rocket released a visible tracer of trimethyl aluminum vapor to measure the winds and turbulence 60 to 120 miles above Earth. Link to news article about the Joule II launches in SitNews, Ketchikan, Alaska, January 19, 2007.

JOULE II:  Mulitple-Scale Study of High-Latitude Joule Heating During a Substorm Event

JOULE II will conduct a detailed investigation of the various contributions to the local E-region heating during a substorm event in the post-midnight sector of the auroral oval at Poker Flat, Alaska, where the Joule heating is expected to be strongest over a broad range of scales. Four rockets will be launched to conduct this mission. Two instrumented rockets will be launched along the magnetic meridian toward north approximately 15 minutes apart to measure the small scale electric field and electron density fluctuations. A chemical tracer rocket will be launched in a salvo with each of the instrumented rockets along the same azimuths to map out the north/south gradients in the neutral winds and their effect on the local heating rates as a function of altitudeand horizontal distance.

Link to Joule II information at University of Calgary.