The early morning skies along the mid-Atlantic coast were lit up by luminescent clouds as NASA tested a new system to support science studies of the ionosphere and aurora, with a sounding rocket launch June 24 from the Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern shore of Virginia. During the flight of a two-stage Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket, 10 canisters about the size of a soft drink can were deployed in the air, 6 to 12 miles away from the 670-pound main payload. The deployed canisters formed blue-green and red artificial clouds, or vapor tracers which allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space. These photographs were taken from Virginia Beach, VA, about 60 miles south of Wallops Island.