Author: Jamie Adkins

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 5:39 p.m. EST, Feb. 9.

The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents throughout the mid-Atlantic region and possibly the East Coast of the United States. This map indicates when (in seconds) and where to look up in the sky after liftoff:

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 12:30 p.m. EST Feb. 9 on the Wallops video and audio Ustream sites.

For local launch-viewers, the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops opens at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 (about four hours before 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. The beach at the Assateague Island National Seashore/Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge will not be open during the launch.

Find directions and more information about the Visitor Center at: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/visitorcenter.

Visitors are reminded that alcohol, pets and firearms are not allowed on the NASA Visitor Center grounds. Also, because of limited parking, over-size vehicles such as campers and recreational vehicles will not be able to park.

Guidance from NASA on drone use for viewing Wallops launches
Guidance for mariners (PDF)
Guidance for pilots (PDF)

Outside the predicted visibility area? NASA TV launch coverage and commentary, as well as streaming online at nasa.gov/live, will begin at 5:00 p.m. EST Feb. 9.

This will be Northrop Grumman’s 13th commercial resupply services mission. Cygnus will carry more than 8,000 pounds of crew supplies and hardware to the space station, including science and research in support of dozens of research investigations.

 

NASA’s commercial partner Northrop Grumman is scheduled to launch its Antares rocket carrying its Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station at 5:39 p.m. EDT Sunday, Feb. 9.

Loaded with more than 8,000 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware, this is Northrop Grumman’s 13th commercial resupply NASA-contracted mission. It will launch from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

The team rolled the Antares rocket out to Pad-0A at Wallops the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 5.

More images are available from NASA Headquarters’ Flickr gallery.

The launch, as well as briefings preceding and following liftoff, will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 5:00 p.m. EDT Feb. 9.

We are inviting social media users to apply for credentials to cover the launch of Northrop Grumman‘s CRS-13 mission to the International Space Station. An Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft will liftoff no earlier than 5:39 p.m. EST on Feb. 9, 2020 from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Registration opened on Friday, Jan. 17, 2020. Social media users must apply by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Thursday, January. 23, 2020. All social media accreditation applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Media accreditation is still open for the launch of Northrop Grumman’s next delivery of NASA science investigations, supplies and equipment to the International Space Station on Feb. 9. The deadline for international media without U.S. citizenship closed on Monday, Jan. 13. The application deadline for media who are U.S. citizens is Monday, Feb. 3.