BOOK OVERVIEW
The Journey
Neal Brown dedicated over four decades to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and inspired countless individuals with his passion for discovery and education. Born in 1938, Neal's journey led him from early work with NASA to becoming a beloved figure in Alaska science education. His fascination with the aurora borealis drew him to Fairbanks in the mid-1960s. This marked the beginning of a lifelong commitment to understanding the aurora, Earth's atmosphere, and space.
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Poker Flat Research Range is the only university-owned rocket range in the world and is a premier facility for launching sounding rockets for scientific research. Neal served as the director for 18 years, overseeing numerous rocket launches and other research projects, and enormous improvements in the infrastructure there. Later, he led the Alaska Space Grant Program, promoting education and research in aerospace and earth sciences across the state.
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"What we had were a bunch of experienced hooligans with Alaska homesteader personalities who had a hunch they could do it better and cheaper than 'those NASA guys'."Â Â (Neal Brown)
Watch a rocket through Neal's eyes at Poker Flat Research Range:
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Neal Brown — The Man Who Made Science Soar
Neal B. Brown (1938–2021) was a pioneering rocket scientist, atmospheric physicist, and one of the early architects of America’s upper-atmosphere research program. After beginning his career with NASA in 1961, he went on to spend more than three decades in Alaska studying the aurora borealis and the complex interactions between Earth’s atmosphere and space. He served for eighteen years as Director of the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, the world’s only university-owned rocket launching facility, where he helped oversee hundreds of sounding rocket missions that advanced scientific understanding of the Northern Lights, the ionosphere, and the near-space environment.
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Throughout his career, Brown worked at the intersection of science, engineering, and exploration during an era defined by the Cold War and the Space Race. His work took him from wheat fields outside Moscow, Idaho, to NASA, Greenland, and ultimately Alaska, where he found both his professional calling and the landscape that would define his life. Along the way, he collaborated with scientists from around the world, mentored generations of researchers and engineers, and witnessed firsthand the transformation of space science from its earliest experimental years into a mature scientific discipline.
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In the years before his death, Brown wrote nearly 1,100 pages recounting not only the scientific milestones of his career but also the people, adventures, setbacks, and discoveries that shaped his remarkable life. Rather than a technical memoir, his writing offers an accessible and deeply personal account of an extraordinary period in American scientific history, weaving together stories of rocket launches, Arctic expeditions, auroral research, family life, and the enduring spirit of exploration that drove both the space program and those who built it.
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Following his passing in 2021, Brown’s children discovered and, with the help of their family friend Sue Mitchell, carefully assembled his manuscript into Northern Lights and Rocket Flights, preserving his voice for future generations. The book stands as both a memoir and a historical record, offering readers a rare, firsthand look at the pioneering years of atmospheric and space research in Alaska and the remarkable career of one of the scientists who helped illuminate the mysteries of the Northern Lights.
About The Collaborator
Sue Mitchell
Sue Mitchell is an editor and science communicator who spent much of her career helping translate complex research into engaging stories for broad audiences. Following many years as production editor with the University of Alaska’s Press, she led the public information team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, or GI. There she worked closely with scientists to share their work, including at Poker Flat Research Range.
Sue often sought out Neal to speak to groups about the aurora and the remarkable work being done at the GI, and about Alaska’s key role in space and atmospheric research.
When Neal passed away, leaving this book an unfinished project, Sue was uniquely suited to shaping it into a narrative. Her editorial work and deep appreciation for both science and history were instrumental in bringing Northern Lights and Rocket Flights to life.
Sue lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, with her husband and also enjoys spending time at their home in Homer. When not editing, writing, or remodeling houses, they are enthusiastic travelers who have explored destinations around the world.
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MEDIA
Fairbanks learned long ago that arctic knowledge is power
Column | Fairbanks Daily Newsminer
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Kris Brown argues that continued Arctic research is essential to U.S. security and competitiveness as Russia and China expand their presence in the region. Drawing on his father Neal Brown’s legacy at UAF and Poker Flat, he warns that cuts to Arctic science could weaken decades of American expertise and innovation. He also points readers to Neal Brown’s recently published memoir, Northern Lights and Rocket Flights, as a history of how Fairbanks helped build that American expertise.
What Alaska and Logan taught me about American ingenuity
Column | Herald Journal
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Kris Brown reflects on the spirit of American ingenuity through his experiences in Alaska and Logan, Utah, highlighting the curiosity, resourcefulness and collaboration that have fueled scientific innovation in both places. The column draws on his family’s history in Alaska’s pioneering space research and the lessons captured in Northern Lights and Rocket Flights.
New Memoir Illuminates Alaska's Pioneering Role in Space Science and America's Arctic History
Press Release | PR Newswire
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"Northern Lights and Rocket Flights: My Years at Poker Flat Research Range, a memoir by Neal Brown completed with Sue Mitchell, is now available from Springer. Discovered after his death, Brown's 1,100 stories and notes were carefully distilled into a compelling 270-page account of NASA, the aurora, and nearly two decades leading the world's only university-owned rocket range."
Does the aurora make sounds humans can hear?
Article by Neal Brown | Fairbanks Daily Newsminer​
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Can you hear the northern lights?
It remains one of the aurora’s most enduring mysteries.
People have described hearing swishing, crackling or rustling sounds during especially vivid displays. Some compare it to a taffeta skirt, burning grass or static electricity. Even dogs and other animals have appeared to react to something humans cannot detect or record.
In this 2021 article, Neal Brown explored the puzzle with the curiosity and scientific caution that defined his life. Sound traveling from an aurora 60 miles overhead could not reach an observer at the same moment as the light. Yet Neal believed the reports should not simply be dismissed. Perhaps the sound is produced much closer to the ground, through an electrical effect in the air, ice crystals or nearby trees.
As he put it, maybe our instruments simply have not been “at the right place at the right time.”
For a man who spent his life studying the northern lights, some wonder remained. And Neal would probably have said that was part of what made the aurora so captivating: it always left us with another reason to listen, look up and wonder.
resources
University of Alaska Fairbanks Interview with Neal Brown
Learn more about Neal's experiences and inspirations from this interview with Robert Hannon and Q&A session with a Fairbanks audience.
KUAC Radio:Â Neal Brown, Rocket Scientist and Educator
Piece by Robert Hannon. Neal Brown spent his career at the University of Alaska Fairbanks helping launch rockets, studying the aurora and infecting young and old with his enthusiasm for science. Â
Planetary Radio Interview: Rocketing Into the Aurora With Neal Brown
It’s back to Alaska, this time to the Poker Flat Research Range, where former Director Neal Brown and his staff launched sounding rockets into the heart of the Aurora Borealis. Emily Lakdawalla explores newly-discovered and very distant dwarf planets. Bill Nye the Science guy has the latest on NASA’s planetary science budget. Bruce Betts tells us about a total lunar eclipse that will dazzle North America.
PFRR Circa 1975 - Rocket Launch - A Look Into The Past
Watch a rocket launch in 1975 with Neal Brown at the Poker Flat Research Range. Excerpt from 1975 film "Lights in the Northern Sky"
Poker Flat Tour circa 2008
Tour Poker Flat Research Range in 2008 with Neal Brown.
Northern Soundings: Neal Brown
This thoughtful program explores Alaska and the world through conversations with writers, artists, scientists, historians, and the people who live in the North. Originally produced and aired in 2018 on the occasion of Neal's Legacy Lecture, Neal Brown discusses his life. Â
Coming Soon: Neal Brown Featured in States of America
Neal Brown's remarkable life and pioneering work at Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range will soon be featured in the upcoming Alaska episode of the acclaimed documentary series States of America, filmmaker Brad Barber's 16-year journey to tell the story of all fifty states. The series is expected to premiere nationally on public television and stream on PBS later this year, marking the first-ever broadcast of the Alaska episode.
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The film captures not only our nation's breathtaking landscapes but also the people whose curiosity, innovation, and adventurous spirit helped shape America. Neal was honored to be the person selected to represent Alaska, the Last Frontier.
We'll post a direct link to the PBS broadcast here as soon as it becomes available. Be sure to check back, or follow the States of America project at STATES OF AMERICA, to soon watch Neal's story come to life on the big screen.
Remembering Neal
Neal Brown Memorial Video
Following Neal Brown's passing in 2021, his son, Kristopher Brown, collaborated with acclaimed documentary filmmaker Matthias Roeckl to create this memorial film celebrating Neal's extraordinary life. Combining family photographs, archival footage, and scenes from the Alaska landscapes he loved, the video traces Neal's journey from a young NASA engineer to one of the pioneers of atmospheric and space research at Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range.
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Created as a tribute to his enduring curiosity, warmth, humor, and passion for discovery, the film offers a personal introduction to the man behind Northern Lights and Rocket Flights and the legacy he left for his family, friends, colleagues, and generations of scientists who followed.
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Neal Brown Memorial Video (Password = Neal)
A permanent exhibit honoring Neal plays the following video in the Discovery Section of The University of Alaska Museum of the North (UAMN) in Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Museum of the North Video – Neal Brown (Password = Neal)
Camp Denali
For more than three decades, Camp Denali was Neal Brown's summer home away from home. Founded by his friends Celia Hunter and Ginny Wood, and lovingly stewarded by the Cole and Hamm families, the lodge welcomed Neal each summer to share his passion for the Northern Lights with guests from around the world. This memorial plaque, overlooking Denali itself, stands in tribute to a scientist, storyteller, and cherished friend.
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Neal Brown Museum Education Support Endowment
Neal Brown, a respected scientist and educator, devoted more than 40 years to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, inspiring generations through his passion for science, exploration, and learning. As a UA Museum of the North Education Affiliate, he led the museum's family rocket programs and played a key role in developing its aurora education initiatives for many years. His legacy continues through the Neal Brown Museum Education Support Endowment, which helps sustain the museum's educational mission.
Jamie Smith, Nuggets
Rockets Over Alaska: The Genesis of Poker Flat
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Neil Davis (1932–2016) was the visionary geophysicist who founded Poker Flat Research Range, today the world's only university-owned sounding rocket range. Recognizing Alaska's unique location beneath the auroral oval, Davis led the effort to establish the facility in 1968–69, creating a research center that has supported hundreds of scientific missions and transformed our understanding of the aurora, the ionosphere, and near-Earth space.
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Davis was Neal Brown's mentor, colleague, and close friend. When Brown became Director of Poker Flat, he carried forward Davis's vision, expanding the range's scientific capabilities and helping ensure its continued international prominence in atmospheric and space research.
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Neil Davis recounted the extraordinary story of Poker Flat's creation in his book, Rockets Over Alaska: The Genesis of Poker Flat. Drawing on his firsthand experiences, the book describes how a small group of scientists and engineers built a world-class rocket range in the Alaskan wilderness using ingenuity, determination, and no small amount of improvisation. It is the definitive history of Poker Flat's founding and an essential companion to Neal Brown's Northern Lights and Rocket Flights.
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Purchase the book: Amazon - Rockets Over Alaska: The Genesis of Poker Flat
Some Days You Eat the Bears: An Alaskan Memoir
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Merritt Helfferich (1935-2019) and Neal Brown, dear personal and professional friends, devoted much of their professional lives to the success of Poker Flat Research Range, helping establish it as one of the world's premier sounding rocket facilities. Helfferich was among the range's earliest leaders, serving in critical technical and management roles that included flight safety, rocket operations, launch logistics, and range development. His practical expertise and steady leadership helped transform Poker Flat from an ambitious idea into a world-class center for atmospheric and space research.
Helfferich chronicled his remarkable life in Alaska, including his years helping build Poker Flat, in his memoir, Some Days You Eat the Bears: An Alaskan Memoir.
Learn more or purchase the book by contacting April Crosby at aprilecrosby@gmail.com.
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