Rocket Launch Image: University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska

A rocket flies through the aurora borealis after lifting off from the University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska. 

The mission was launched by a NASA funded group of 60 researchers studying electrical activity in the aurora borealis and the likelihood it is interfering with GPS and other signals. 

Cornell University says the 46-foot rocket sent back data as it flew through the aurora at an altitude of 217 miles.

Picture: NASA Wallops, Lee Wingfield/AP