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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) A sounding rocket launches into a light blue sky with a group of spectators watching in the foreground. The rocket is a long, thin, blue and gray cylinder with blue tail fins near the end. It’s launching from just to the right of center up and slightly to the left. Three Black Brant IX sounding rockets launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia April 8, 2024, during the solar eclipse. The rockets launched for the Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP) mission to study the disturbances in the electrified region of Earth’s atmosphere known as the ionosphere created when the Moon eclipses the Sun. The rockets launched before, during, and after peak local eclipse time on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Photo Credit: NASA/Garon Clark

Share Details Last Updated Apr 09, 2024 EditorJamie AdkinsContactAmy Barraamy.l.barra@nasa.gov Related Terms2024 Solar EclipseSounding RocketsSounding Rockets ProgramWallops Flight Facility

NASA Wallops Launches 3 Rockets During Eclipse in Virginia