L-72 Hour Weather Forecast for Antares Launch on Feb. 19

The Wednesday, Feb. 16, Wallops Range forecast predicts 75% favorable weather for the Saturday, Feb. 19, launch window of NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft.

A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus resupply spacecraft is seen as it is transported to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black

The primary concern for launch at this time is strong southwesterly ground winds.

A strong upper-level shortwave digs out of the Great Lakes region Saturday morning and moves through the northern mid-Atlantic region early Saturday afternoon. This will push a secondary cold front across the Wallops area near the time of T-0 on Feb. 19. Surface winds will increase out of the southwest Saturday morning and there is a chance for a few cumulus clouds to develop to our northwest prior to the launch window.