NASA Sounding Rocket to Launch Student Experiments

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NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is scheduled to launch a sounding rocket carrying student-developed experiments for the agency’s RockSatX and RockOn programs Wednesday, June 24, between 5:30 and 9:30 a.m. EDT, with a backup day on Thursday, June 25.

Students watch as their experiments launch aboard a sounding rocket for the RockSat-X program from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility Aug. 11, 2022, at 6:09 p.m. EDT. The Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket carried the experiments to an altitude of 99 miles before descending via a parachute and landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
NASA Wallops/Terry Zaperach

The RockSat and RockOn programs provide technical training and hands-on experiences that prepare and equip students to enter the United States aerospace industry. For the first time, NASA will combine both the RockSat and RockOn missions into one rocket, which will carry experiments developed by nearly 250 participants from 38 university and community college teams.

“The challenge was finding ways to fit as many experiments onto one sounding rocket as we could,” said Victoria Stoffel, workforce development lead at NASA Wallops. “The Sounding Rocket Program Office team found creative ways to fit nearly 50 experiments into one rocket. We are grateful to the Wallops teams for making this happen for the students to get the most from this experience.”

The RockOn teams work together to build their experiment onsite, getting hands-on experience putting together a circuit board from scratch and launching it into space. The more advanced RockSat program teams design and build their experiments, going through design reviews modeled on larger NASA missions. Each team can experience what it’s like working on a real NASA mission, from development to launch.

The RockSat student experiments range from taking measurements of weather and radiation in Earth’s upper atmosphere to testing technologies, such as heat shields, space-debris tracking, and robotic servicing, that could help future NASA missions.

The Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket, which will carry the experiments, is expected to reach an altitude of about 100 miles before descending by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean to be recovered. The launch may be visible in the Chesapeake Bay region.

A launch visibility map for a Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket launching from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
NASA

The Wallops Visitor Center’s launch viewing area will open June 24 at 4:30 a.m. for viewing. A livestream will begin approximately 10 minutes before launch on the Wallops YouTube channel. Launch updates also are available via the facility’s Facebook page.

For more information about NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/soundingrockets

By Jamie Adkins
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia

List of RockSat Teams

Capital Tech University, Maryland

Clemson University, South Carolina

College of the Canyons, California

Colorado Space Grant Consortium

University of Colorado Boulder

Escuela de Troquelería y Herramentaje, Puerto Rico

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Northwest Nazarene University, Idaho

Rockets of the Rockies, Colorado

Red Rocks Community College

Arapahoe Community College

Temple University, Pennsylvania

Tidewater Community College, Virginia

University of Alabama Huntsville

University of Delaware

University of Hartford, Connecticut

University of Hawaii Community Colleges

University of Kentucky

University of Nebraska Lincoln

University of Puerto Rico

University of Virginia

Virginia Tech

West Virginia Space Flight Design Challenge

Blue Ridge Community College

West Virginia Wesleyan College

West Virginia University

West Virginia State University

Marshall University

List of RockOn Teams

University of Delaware

Wilmington University, Delaware

Chief Dull Knife College, Montana

Grambling State University, Louisiana

College of the Canyons, California

Eastern Shore Community College, Virginia

Salisbury University, Maryland

Capitol Technology University, Maryland

College of the Desert, California

Flathead Valley Community College, Montana

Delgado Community College, Louisiana

Des Moines Area Community College, Iowa

Langston University, Oklahoma

University of Kentucky

Saginaw Valley State University, Michigan

Morgan State University, Maryland

Pennsylvania State Harrisburg

Middlesex College, New Jersey

University of Colorado

Wor-Wic Community College, Maryland

Tidewater Community College, Virginia

Montana Technological University

University of Hartford, Connecticut

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

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Last Updated

Jun 22, 2026

Editor

Jamie Adkins

Contact

Abbey Interrante

abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov

Related Terms

Wallops Flight Facility
Sounding Rockets

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