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NASA is launching a rocket this week that promises to light up the sky on the East Coast. But you’ll have to get up early to see it.
The Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket is scheduled to launch at 4:49 a.m. Eastern on Thursday from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, headed to resupply the International Space Station.
Weather permitting, the launch should be visible in the Carolinas, according to NASA, and is expected to “light up the sky,” according to the Wallops Flight Facility. “The launch is expected to be visible to much of the East Coast if the skies are clear.”
The Wallops Mission Status Center website will have a live countdown and live audio and video from the launch.
When accessed using a smartphone browser, the Status Center also will include information on when you could see the rocket in flight and how to use your smartphone to find the viewing direction “to see the rocket streak across the early morning sky,” according to NASA.
Live coverage of the mission is set to start at 10:30 p.m. Nov. 14 on the Wallops video and audio Ustream sites.
Launch coverage on NASA TV will begin at 4:15 a.m.
This will be the 10th mission to the space station by NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman.
The Cygnus cargo spacecraft launched by the rocket will carry “about 7,200 pounds of crew supplies and hardware to the space station, including science and research in support of dozens of research investigations,” according to NASA.
Some of the research includes “a physical sciences investigation to evaluate a method for producing fiber optic cable in space” and “astrophysics research to examine the formation of chondrules, some of the oldest material in the solar system,” according to NASA.
The Cygnus spacecraft is expected to reach the space station by Nov. 18, when the space station’s robotic arm will grasp the Cygnus and install it on the station, according to NASA. The Cygnus will stay at the space station until February.
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