Responding to a decrease during the past 10 years in undergraduate aerospace engineering students, Dr. Laufer implemented the concept of an actual launch into his curriculum to boost interest in the program. The internship program exposes undergraduates to every facet of sounding rocket operations, including design, fabrication, testing and launch. The program also receives funding from the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. The mission's objective was to receive calibrated measurements of land and ocean temperatures by using a thermoelectrically cooled IR sensor and the sky as a zero reference. The payload was recovered at sea approximately 14 miles from shore.
Preliminary results indicate that the mission was successful in all aspects.
Litton PRC is a leading provider of scientific, engineering, and information technology-based solutions for public sector clients. Litton PRC, headquartered in McLean, Va., is a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman and employs more than 6,000 people in 150 offices nationwide. It is ranked as one of the federal government's top 10 contractors. Northrop Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and solutions in defense and commercial electronics, systems integration, information technology and non-nuclear shipbuilding and systems. With 80,000 employees and operations in 44 states and 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.