UPDATE March 21, 2022 – A NASA Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket was successfully launched from Wallops at 7:12 p.m. EDT, March 21. Preliminary reports show that the rocket and payload systems performed as planned. The principal investigator from the Air Force Research Lab reports that good data was received from the mission.
A two-stage suborbital sounding rocket is scheduled for launch March 21, 2022, for a mission managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory/Air Force Office of Scientific Research, from NASA’s launch range at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The launch of the Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket is scheduled between 7-10 p.m. EDT, March 21. The backup launch dates are March 22 through April 1.
The purpose of the mission, called BOundary Layer Turbulence 2, or BOLT-2, is to increase the understanding of boundary layer transition, turbulent heating, and drag on vehicles flying at hypersonic conditions. Boundary layer transition to turbulence is the process where smooth, laminar flow becomes unstable after which turbulence dominates and significantly increases heating and drag on high-speed vehicles.
Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 6:40 p.m. EDT on the Wallops YouTube site. Launch updates will be available on the Wallops Facebook and Twitter pages.
The rocket launch is expected to be visible from the Chesapeake Bay region. The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will not be open for viewing the launch.
Keith Koehler
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility
