Viewing Opportunities: Antares Launch, Space Station Fly-Over

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport are set to support the launch of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket at 6:45 p.m. EDT today, Oct. 27. Launch coverage on NASA TV will begin at 5:45 p.m.

Public viewing of the launch will be available at the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops, as well as at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Assateague Island National Seashore. (Wallops visitors are reminded that alcohol and pets are not allowed on Visitor Center grounds.) The Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission has additional recommendations for local viewing sites.

The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents throughout the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions of the United States.

Orb-3 Launch Visibility Map
The Antares launch scheduled Oct. 27 may be visible to residents in the mid-Atlantic, weather permitting. Credit: NASA/Wallops Mission Planning Lab
trajectory over view of harbor
What the Antares launch may look like from Fells Point in Baltimore, Maryland. Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.
view of trajectory over tidal basin
Viewing the launch across the tidal basin from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.
trajectory over the upper west side.
Viewing from River Road in North Bergen, New Jersey, looking south. Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.

More viewing maps from Orbital Sciences Corp. are available here.

Those in the Mid-Atlantic and surrounding regions may be able to see an overhead pass of the International Space Station a few minutes after the Antares’ scheduled launch. At Wallops Island, Virginia, the station will become visible near the northwest horizon at 6:49 p.m. EDT and arc almost directly overhead before passing out of view about six minutes later near the southeast horizon. Visit NASA’s Spot the Station website for viewing information from additional locations.

The Antares rocket will carry Orbital’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft, loaded with some 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments, to the International Space Station. CRS-3 (short for “Commercial Resupply Services”) will be the fourth Cygnus flight, including a demonstration flight in 2013, and the first night launch of an Antares rocket.

› More launch information and TV coverage details
› NASA’s Orbital website
› Related images on Flickr

5 thoughts on “Viewing Opportunities: Antares Launch, Space Station Fly-Over”

    1. It is possible you saw the International Space Station, which passed over the area shortly before 7 p.m. EDT (Oct. 27).

    2. Yeah, that was the space station. It was visible for about 5 minutes, depending on where you were watching. Tiangong, the Chinese station, was also visible at the same time. Good show

  3. Yeah, that was the ISS. It was visible around the scheduled time of launch for about 5 minutes, depending on where you were watching. Tiangong, the Chinese station was also visible at the same time. Good show

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