A strange red light appeared in the sky, and NASA gave explanations

Since a weekAnd the at Puerto Rico And many states on the east coast of the United States, a lot of people They saw in the sky a Strange red light Right after sunset. The flash caused surprise and in some cases even fear of the unknown light signal. Reports containing photos and videos quickly invaded social networkss. Sightings have been documented, for example, by residents of Puerto Rico’s metropolitan area and in several cities on the island.

NASA responded

Faced with such ambiguities, NASA quickly published the origin of the strike ‘Flashing red’ In the sky to calm the citizens. Apparently it was It releases steam from a rocket Launched by the Department of Defense from NASA’s Wallops Aviation Facility, in Virginia (EE.UU).

Only on March 3, a three-stage orbital sounding missile was launched to the The study of ionization in space outside the boundaries of the Earth’s atmosphere. The rocket payload released a small amount of steam into the void near space.

Who warns …

A few days ago, NASA reported that this might happen, explaining that the rocket will release a small amount of steam, and as a result, Various colored clouds can appear On the ocean For residents of the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States, where steam lit up by the sun before it was lost in space.

Many residents who were able to see how this red light remained shining in the sky for long minutes, could have avoided panic or annoyance had they only remembered the previous announcement, or its publication was more effective. On the other hand, NASA confirmed this There was no danger to public health or the Earth’s environment from the release of the steam.

NASA expected that it will not post real-time launch status updates during the countdown on social media, and that the launch will not be viewed live online. At the same time, the NASA Visitor Center in Wallops will not be open to view the launch.

Wallops Flight Facility

Located on the coast of Virginia, and NASA facility on Wallops Island It was originally built in the 1940s for the purpose of testing missile-powered vehicles, the first of which was launched on July 4, 1945. is being One of the oldest launch sites in the world. Wallops runs NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program and supports about 35 missions each year.

Until 1957, the Wallops served as a test base for newly designed aircraft, Those propelled by missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, were subjected to high-speed aerial flights and greatly exceeded the performance of wind tunnels at the time.

Between 1958 and 1974, already under the auspices of NASA, It developed vital components there to develop the first manned flights (Escape capsules, recovery systems, etc.), and implemented Launch of sub-orbital and small satellites.

Currently, the site has a total of 6 missile launchers, And the mobile infrastructure needed to carry out the same missile launches from almost anywhere in the world. Focuses on managing all NASA programs related to probe missiles, stratospheric balloons, orbital tracking and operating scientific aircraft.