NASA-funded sounding rockets to launch from Alaska to study cosmic dust and dying stars

Two NASA-funded sounding rockets are scheduled to launch from Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska as early as next week, starting October 19. One mission will investigate how cosmic dust forms, carrying a tiny laboratory into space to study silicate dust grains in near-weightless conditions. The other mission, a follow-up to an earlier launch, will focus on the Dumbbell Nebula, a gas cloud released by a dying star, to learn more about stellar deaths.