Suggested Searches

A sounding rocket seconds in mid-launch off the launch pad with a bright yellow plume underneath. The rocket, from bottom to top, has yellow fins on the bottom, a white section, bright yellow fins, a white section, bright yellow fins, a red section that leads to a silver section, and then a black cone-shaped top. In the background is a blue sky.

PRECISE Launch Photos

A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket launched on the afternoon of March 3, 2021, from Wallops Island for the Department of Defense. The launch was to study ionization in space just beyond the reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. After flying to an altitude of several hundred miles and about 500 miles offshore, the rocket’s payload released a small quantity of vapor into the near-vacuum of space.

Download
TakenMarch 3, 2021
Size2400x1600px