LaBelle Group at Dartmouth, launched this Black Brant XII (40.025UE) from Poker Flat Rocket Range north of Fairbanks at around 12:50 AM on 2/16/2010. This was filmed roughly 30 miles to the SSW. The experiment was looking at the way waves and particles interact in the ionosphere. In the video, we see a plume from the separation and ignition of the 4th stage, and there is a release of some substance, perhaps trimethyl aluminium. It is seen to drift to the west. I assume that part of the experiment was optical with cameras recording the "plume" in Tolik, Fort Yukon, and perhaps Kaktovik. Launch recorded on Feb. 16, 2010, at around 12:50 AM.
Launch season at Poker Flat Research Range is under way. The rocket range, located about 30 miles north of Fairbanks off the Steese Highway, fired its first rocket of the year on Tuesday. The range has an international reputation as a research facility, largely because there are few others like it. The 5,132-acre site is one of only three in the world available for high-latitude research rocket launches, according to James LaBelle, a physics professor from Dartmouth College. The others are located in Norway and Sweden. Read more