The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) research project is focused on understanding the effect of big thunderstorms on the composition of the upper troposphere. These tall convective storms move surface-level air to the level of the anvil and generate lightning, which alters air chemistry. The project is based in a hanger at the Salina […]

The Saturn V rocket on display at Kennedy Space Center, here showing the junction between the S-IC stage to the left and the S-II stage to the right. During a launch, these two stages would separate at a height of 67 km and a speed of 2390 meters/second. Having burned thousands of tons of kerosene […]

From a vantage point in Titusville, FL across the Indian River from the Kennedy Space Center, the first glow of the coming dawn was beginning to spread across the eastern horizon when the Space Shuttle Discovery roared into a still-starlit sky. This 6:21 am spectacle (STS-131; 5 Apr 2010) was the last time nighttime launch […]

Another high-altitude balloon surged into the stratosphere with a launch last week. A group of Arvada students released the balloon from their high school in a suburban area near the mountains. Rising from this great launch site, the balloon payload returned some excellent aerial photos both of Denver and of the snow-covered Front Range. Read […]