NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport are set to support the launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket, carrying the company’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station at 4:01 a.m. EST, Nov. 17.
The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents up and down the East Coast of the United States.
When accessed from a smartphone browser, the Wallops Mission Status Center website can provide specific viewing information based on your location. Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. EST Nov. 16 on the Wallops video and audio Ustream sites.
Launch coverage and commentary on NASA TV and streaming online at nasa.gov/live will begin at 3:30 a.m. EST Nov. 17.
NASA astronaut Kay Hire describes what it’s like to witness a rocket launch in person. This audio postcard was recorded in May 2018 at Wallops during the most recent previous launch of an Antares rocket. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
For local launch-viewers, the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops opens at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 17 (four hours before the launch). Additional locations for catching the launch are Robert Reed Park on Chincoteague Island or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. Assateague Island National Seashore/Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia will not be open for viewing the launch.
Visitors are reminded that alcohol, pets and firearms are not allowed on the NASA Visitor Center grounds.
Guidance from NASA on drone use for viewing Wallops launches
Guidance for mariners (PDF)
Guidance for pilots (PDF)
Under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract, Cygnus will carry about 7,400 pounds of crew supplies and hardware to the space station, including science and research in support of dozens of research investigations.
Will we be able to see the rocket from Charlotte, NC
Possibly. The best bet would be an entirely unobstructed view of the east-northeast horizon. Antares might reach an apparent elevation of, at most, 5 degrees.