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Space science: From the desert to the edge of space

Nature volume 454, pages 270–273 (2008)Cite this article

Not all NASA launches need rockets and countdowns. Eric Hand sees the alternative in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

On the day of the launch Mark Cobble arrives well before dawn. Lightning studs the sky on the horizon; halogen spotlights bathe the three-story NASA hangar in light. The desert around Fort Sumner municipal airport in New Mexico is still, its silence relieved only by the hum of a generator, the clapping of an exhaust flap on a helium truck and the slight rustle of the wind in the scraggly trees and scrub. That windy rustle bothers Cobble, the NASA crew chief in charge of the launch that is about to get under way.

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  1. Eric Hand
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Hear Eric Hand talk about reporting this feature on the 17 July Nature podcast: http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/index.html

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NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility

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Hand, E. Space science: From the desert to the edge of space. Nature 454, 270–273 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/454270a

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