NASA plans multi-rocket science launch

NASA says a science mission this week will briefly create a milky white cloud that may be visible along a large portion of the U.S. East Coast. Five sounding rockets will be launched in quick succession Tuesday from the Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va., and each will release a chemical tracer at different altitudes to create clouds allowing scientists and the public to "see" the winds in space, the space agency said Monday. The Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment mission -- to gather information needed to improve understanding of the high-altitude jet stream located 60 to 65 miles above the surface of Earth -- is set to launch between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST Tuesday. The launch will need clear skies not only at Wallops Island but also in North Carolina and New Jersey, where camera sites will record the results of the experiment, NASA said. The latest weather forecasts appear to be favorable, with clear weather forecast along the Atlantic Seaboard, but possible gusty winds could ground the rockets for another night. Scientists said the temporary clouds the rockets create may be visible for up to 20 minutes by residents from South Carolina north to southern New Hampshire and Vermont.