Mesquito
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 The Mesquito sounding rocket |
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| Function | Sounding rocket |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | NSROC |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | LC-2, Wallops Island |
| Total launches | 2 |
| Successes | 1 |
| Failures | 1 |
| Maiden flight | 6 May 2008 |
The Mesquito is a new sounding rocket vehicle developed for the NASA Sounding Rocket Program on Wallops Island, Virginia. The "skeeter" was developed to provide rocket borne measurements of the mesospheric region of the upper atmosphere. An area of great science interest is in the 82 - 95 km region where the conventional understanding of atmospherics physics is being challenged.
The skeeter is a two stage sounding rocket using a 9 inch diameter solid propellant rocket motor as the 1st stage propulsion device. The non-propulsive 2nd stage dart contains a free flying structural body that includes an avionics suite and an experiment space with interface.
NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract (NSROC) engineers and technicians are the developers and designers of the sounding rocket. The maiden flight occurred on 6 May 2008, from LC-2 at the Wallops Flight Facility.
[edit] Launch history
| Date | Time (GMT) | S/N | Mission | Outcome | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-05-06 | 18:00-20:00 | 12.065 | Test | Success | Maiden flight[1] |
| 2008-05-07 | 18:00-20:00 | 12.066 | Test | Failure | Loss of control following burnout[1] |
[edit] References
"Sounding Rocket Technology Development". NASA.
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