By the time the sun rises in Fairbanks, Alaska, the PolarNOx team has already been unpacking their experiment for hours in the darkness. 

PolarNOx experiment hatch
This side of the PolarNOx payload highlights the hatch that will open in-flight, revealing the star tracker inside. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.

Warmed by -50 degree Fahrenheit weather, the Virginia Tech research team, NASA Wallops Flight Facility scientists and engineers, and contracters unloaded the two-ton experiment and more into the payload assembly building at the Poker Flat Research Range, the only university-owend scientific rocket launching facility in the world.

Nestled in the mountains by the Chatanika River Valley, the research range is located beneath the aurora oval, an essential piece of the PolarNOx experiment, which measures the accumulate of nitric oxide in the polar night.

Scott Bailey, professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Virginia Tech, is joined by research associate professor Justin Carstens, and a three-member student team:

NASA employee unpacks the cradle that will be used for an official cradle test of the assembled rocket.
NASA employee unpacks the cradle that will be used for an official cradle test of the assembled rocket. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.
All two tons of the PolarNOx experiment packed into crates shipped to Poker Flat Research Range
All two tons of the PolarNOx experiment packed into crates shipped to Poker Flat Research Range. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.
From left: Sowmya Muthurangan, Justin Carstens, Savannah Church, and Aklima Khatun discuss unpacking plans at Poker Flat Research Range
From left: Sowmya Muthurangan, Justin Carstens, Savannah Church, and Aklima Khatun discuss unpacking plans at Poker Flat Research Range. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.
From left: Savannah Church works with Aklima Khatun to unload boxes at the Poker Flat Research Range
From left: Savannah Church works with Aklima Khatun to unload boxes at the Poker Flat Research Range. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.
Sowmya Muthurangan and Aklima Khatun unpacking at Poker Flat.
From left: Sowmya Muthurangan and Aklima Khatun unpacking at Poker Flat. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.

After traveling thousands of miles from Virginia, checking the interior workings of the experiment is essential.

From left: Savannah Church, Aklima Khatun, and Sowmya Muthurangan work together to set up a power device to open the experiment payload
From left: Savannah Church, Aklima Khatun, and Sowmya Muthurangan work together to set up a power device to open the experiment payload. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.
Sowmya Muthurangan plug in the power supply to the experiment payload
In the background, Scott Bailey observes Sowmya Muthurangan plug in the power supply to the experiment payload. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.

Gowns and gloves on, the team finished the first research day in the clean room, observing the inner workings of the PolarNOx experiment to confirm if any of the sensitive telescope or electronic parts had shifted in travel. (Spoiler alert: everything is good!)

By the end of January, Virginia Tech, NASA Wallops, and the contractors will work closely together to

  • run essential experiment tests 
  • integrate NASA and experiment communication systems
  • officially launch PolarNOx for the fourth time
From left: Scott Bailey and NASA Whallops team members chat about the PolarNOx experiment at the payload assembly building.
From left: Scott Bailey and NASA Wallops team members chat about the PolarNOx experiment at the payload assembly building. Photo by Niki Hazuda for Virginia Tech.