The launch was to be visible in coastal areas from North Carolina to southern New York, weather permitting.
Scientists hope the rocket will provide more information about the source of the soft X-rays, which “strike toward Earth from elsewhere in our galaxy,” the release said.
NASA said soft X-rays are not harmful to people, but they can damage radio communications and GPS systems. They have less energy than X-rays used in the medical field.
Scientists think these X-rays come from two sources, said the mission’s principal investigator, Massimiliano Gallizzi, of the University of Miami, Florida.
“The first source is located outside our solar system and originated from the remnants of several supernova explosions, now called the local hot bubble region of our galaxy,” Galizzi said in the release. “The other source is within the Solar System and is generated by the solar wind charge exchange.”
The launch was planned earlier this week, but was postponed due to weather conditions.
According to NASA, the facility launches about 25 sounding rockets a year. The name of the rocket is derived from the nautical word “to sound”, which means to measure.