NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

SOAREX Launch

A NASA-built Terrier-Orion two-stage research sounding rocket launches from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Va., at 9:52 a.m. PDT on May 28, 2009. The rocket lofted two Sub-Orbital Aerodynamic Re-entry Experiments, or SOAREX, probes more than 80 miles high. The two NASA-developed experiments will help engineers and scientists design efficient ways to return experiments to Earth from the International Space Station. Additionally the technology could be used to supplement future missions to Mars.

Photo credit: NASA Wallops Flight Facility