Live Launch Commentary Airing Now for Northrop Grumman CRS-14

NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman is targeting tonight for the launch of its 14th resupply mission to the International Space Station. The five-minute launch window opens at 9:16 p.m. EDT. Live launch commentary has begun on NASA TV.

Map of the Mid-Atlantic showing predictions for visibility of the NG CRS-14 launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The numbers in each colored circle represent the number of seconds after liftoff that the launch might become visible in the associated region. Viewing is dependent upon weather conditions and other factors, such as elevation and the extent to which one’s view of the horizon is obstructed. Credit: NASA Wallops

Live coverage and countdown commentary are also streaming on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, Daily Motion, and Theta.TV. The launch may also be visible to the naked eye in areas of the Mid Atlantic.

Loaded with nearly 8,000 pounds of research, crew supplies, and hardware, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft will launch on the company’s Antares rocket from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

A launch tonight would mean a scheduled arrival at the space station Monday, Oct. 5, of the Cygnus spacecraft, dubbed the SS Kalpana Chawla.

Cygnus is scheduled to remain at the space station until mid-December, when it will depart the station. Following departure, the Saffire-V experiment will be conducted prior to Cygnus deorbit and disposing of several tons of trash during a fiery re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere approximately two weeks later.

NASA guidance on drone use
Wallops’ NG-14 notice to mariners (pdf)