After months of hard work building and testing the instruments and a few weeks of waiting for just the right auroral conditions, the CHARM sounding rocket (also known as 40.019 UE Black Brant XII) was launched from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska on February 28, 2007 at 08:39:41 Z (that's 2:39:41 AM CST).

I hope you enjoyed reading about the detector calibrations, integration and testing for the CHARM sounding rocket. If you'd like to read more about sounding rockets, Professor Kristina Lynch from Dartmouth College has an interesting online journal about the ROPA rocket that was launched from Poker Flat on February 12, 2007. I didn't get to travel to Alaska to watch the CHARM launch, so reading Professor Lynch's web page will give you a better idea of what happens out in the field while making the final preparations for the launch. You can also learn about all of the rockets that were launched from Poker Flat in 2007, as well as the upcoming sounding rocket missions on the NASA Sounding Rocket Program Office web site.