With just 36 hours to go before launch, all team members gather together to rehearse the multi-step process.

A man wearing a headset stands against a square column. There is a monitor with nine camera feeds in the background.
Justin Carstens stands in the science center, listening to the script run-through over the headsets. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.

Launching a rocket, regardless of size, takes more than just one person pressing the "go" button. Carefully scripted to the minute, the PolarNOx rehearsal connected the research team in the science center with the NASA Wallops and the NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract (NSROC) team in the launchpad and communications centers. 

The teams simulate, in real time, what is meant to happen during the real launch. Each system is checked for communication, telemetry, and control as much as possible. The script continues through the launch window; flight and experiment operations; and ends with the payload parachute deployment and landing.

Upon completing the rehearsal, all that's left is to wait for rocket launch call time.

Two young women sit in front of computer monitors.
From left: Aklima Khatun and Sowmya Muthruangan wait for their step in the script run-through. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.

The fully assembled rocket waits on the launchpad rail, boxed in with foam to protect the delicate instrumentation from the negative temperatures of Alaska.

A television screen where nine camera feeds can be seen.
A close-up of the camera monitors utilized by the PolarNOx team to track the rocket situation. The far left middle monitor is the experiment payload boxed in. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.

Watching over the research team members are numerous good luck photos, each with a special significance to someone in the group.

Good-luck photos for the team on launch day.
Good-luck photos for the team on launch day. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.
A close up of good-luck photos for supporting the team on launch day.
A close up of good-luck photos for supporting the team on launch day. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.
A collection of photos on a desk.
A few good luck photos for the team on launch day. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.