This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

University Relations
University of Alaska-Fairbanks

CONTACT:
Vicki Daniels
Public Relations Specialist, UAF Geophysical Institute
(907) 474-5823 or via email at vicki{at}gi.alaska.edu 

James LaBelle
HIBAR Mission Principal Investigator
(907) 455-2110 (Poker Flat Research Range), late afternoon
and evening hours only

1/22/03

Rocket to Measure Auroral Waves
===============================

Poker Flat Research Range will open its 2003 launch season today with 
a single-rocket mission designed to measure high-frequency wave 
signals in connection with the aurora.  Known as HIBAR, the high 
bandwidth auroral rocket mission will have until Feb. 8 to get the 
right weather and auroral conditions to launch a two-stage 
Terrier-Black Brant IX sounding rocket into the aurora at altitudes
where the high-frequency waves form. 

The mission comes as a result of analysis on data gathered from Poker 
Flat rocket launches in 1997 and 2002. Data from those missions 
revealed detailed structure of high-frequency waves that had never
before been recorded, an exciting development in auroral physics. 
Analysis of the findings led to a theory about the waves' 
characteristics that will be tested by HIBAR. 

Historically, high-frequency waves in the ionosphere have been 
difficult to study because they occur at frequencies greater than 1 
MHz, and spacecraft data telemetry rates have been inadequate to 
sample such waves. Recently, enhanced telemetry rates have become 
available on NASA sounding rockets at Poker Flat, allowing waves up to
5 MHz to be thoroughly measured. 

The principal investigator for the HIBAR mission is Dr.  James LaBelle 
from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Dartmouth College in 
Hanover, New Hampshire. 

Since it was founded 35 years ago, more than 1500 meteorological 
rockets and 250 major high-altitude sounding rocket experiments have 
been launched from Poker Flat Research Range to conduct atmospheric 
research on diverse subjects including the aurora, the ozone layer,
solar protons and electric, magnetic and ultraviolet fields.

 - End of File -
================

---