7:15 AM | *Rocket launch scheduled for tonight at NASA/Wallops Island may be visible throughout the Mid-Atlantic region*

The rocket launch that is scheduled for 9:38 PM tonight, October 1st, at NASA’s Wallops Island, Virginia facility may be visible throughout the Mid-Atlantic region (weather permitting). Map courtesy NASA

Overview

Just 100 miles up the coast from where the Wright brothers first flew their airplane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Northrop Grumman is scheduled to launch its Cygnus cargo spacecraft aboard the Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The rocket launch is scheduled for 9:38 PM Thursday, October 1st at NASA’s Wallops Island Facility and it may be visible throughout the Mid-Atlantic region (launch was originally scheduled for Tuesday, September 29th, but was scrubbed due to rainy weather conditions).

Cygnus approaches the International Space Station and is grappled by the crew using the station’s robotic arm. It is then installed on the bottom side of the station’s Harmony node. After delivering cargo to the station, Cygnus destructively reenters Earth’s atmosphere. Image courtesy NASA

Discussion

This will be Northrop Grumman’s 14th commercial resupply services mission to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.  These resupply missions help NASA deliver critical research to the orbiting lab and increase its ability to conduct new investigations. Launch coverage on NASA TV will begin at 9 p.m.  For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.

For viewing, look near the horizon at launch time….if in the Philly area, look to the southern sky; if in DC, look to the southeast; if in NYC, look to the south-southwest.

Northrop Grumman is targeting liftoff of its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft for 9:38 p.m. ET, Thursday, October 1st from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island. Photo credit NASA

Cygnus cargo spacecraft specifications

First launch to ISS: September 2013
Launch site: Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia
Launch vehicle: Antares rocket
Length: 5.1 m (16.7 ft)
Diameter: 3.05 m (10 ft)
Cargo mass: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
Pressurized volume: 18.75 m3 (662.2 ft3)
Unpressurized volume: N/a
Length on orbit: 30 days
Docking method/location: Captured by the station’s robot arm/U.S. segment
Return method: Destructive reentry

Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Perspecta, Inc.
perspectaweather.com

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