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Show liiP A part of the apparatus at the University of Utah Upper Air Research Laboratory presently gathers data from the earth's atmosphere through instruments contained in an orbiting satellite. Directed by Obed C. Haycock, the Upper Air Research project studies atmospheric electron and ion density and the effect of space radiation on the atmosphere. Begun in 1947 with V-2 rockets confiscated from Germany after the war, the project, under the auspices of the Department of Defense, now encompasses rocket and satellite launching from Cape Kennedy; White Sands, New Mexico; Fairbanks, Alaska; Rio Grande, Brazil; and the northern tip of Greenland. The laboratory proposes topics for research, designs the apparatus to test the questions raised, builds the instrument package, and processes data from the rockets and satellites. Before a rocket or satellite is fired, the research instruments undergo rigorous testing at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory in Boston. The Cambridge Research Laboratory then ships the instruments to the launch site where a waiting team of researchers, including some of the University project's staff, packs them into the rocket. The team's 1968 project is a rocket launch from the northern tip of Greenland to measure Polar Cap radio-wave absorption. The data recovered from this mid-summer experiment may provide communication insight, for the team plans to explore the phenomena of ion interference with radio waves. The conditions explored and data recorded by the rockets and satellites will have diverse scientific application in space exploration. As Professor Haycock points out, the first man in orbit faced the unknown of space with greater insurance against disaster and a more substantial fund of information about the environment he would encounter than did Columbus when he sailed into uncharted seas. A part of the vital information demanded by the human orbiting experiment grew out of the research on the upper atmosphere guided by the faculty here at the University. Other data recovered from the instrument package sent up by the University research team swells the growing reservoir of research information. 137 |