Mesquito
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The Mesquito is an American sounding rocket vehicle developed for the NASA Sounding Rocket Program on Wallops Island, Virginia. The Mesquito was developed to provide rocket-borne measurements of the mesospheric region of the upper atmosphere.[1] An area of great science interest is in the 82–95 km region, where the conventional understanding of atmospherics physics is being challenged.
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2015) |
Function | Sounding rocket |
---|---|
Manufacturer | NSROC |
Country of origin | United States |
Launch history | |
Status | Active |
Launch sites | LC-2, Wallops Island |
Total launches | 2 |
Success(es) | 1 |
Failure(s) | 1 |
First flight | 6 May 2008 |
The Mesquito is a two-stage sounding rocket using a 9-inch-diameter (230 mm) solid propellant rocket motor as the first-stage propulsion device. The non-propulsive second-stage dart contains a free-flying structural body that includes an avionics suite and an experiment space with interface.
The maiden flight occurred on 6 May, 2008, from LC-2 at the Wallops Flight Facility.