Antares rocket launch will be visible to U.S. East Coast Monday evening

Antares rocket launch will be visible to U.S. East Coast Monday evening

Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket will launch early Monday evening from Virginia, likely to be visible to much of the U.S. East Coast, weather permitting.

Millions of residents living on the United States East Coast will have an opportunity to witness a rocket launch early Monday evening (Oct. 27) along the eastern shore of Virginia.

According to Space.com, one of the two-stage commercial Antares rockets created by the Orbital Sciences Corp. is scheduled to launch at 6:45 p.m. EDT on Monday from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia. This will be the first-ever night launch of the Antares rocket, which could be visible to residents from a wide range of East Coast states.

“Due to the weather forecast and the fact that the launch is going to be one of our first nighttime launches of the Antares rocket here, you’ll be able to see the rocket pretty much up and down the entire Eastern seaboard from about Connecticut to South Carolina,” said Sarah Daugherty, a test director at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, according to Spaceflight Now.

Universe Today reports that the Antares rocket will be traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) while carrying Orbital’s private Cygnus cargo freighter containing a number of science experiments for the Org-3 cargo resupply mission. This launch to the ISS was delayed three days because of Hurricane Gonzalo and its direct hit on the island of Bermuda, home to another critical rocket tracking station.

“You’ll have a great view of Antares lighting up the night sky, and just as it fades off if you keep your eyes up there, the ISS will actually pass over about five minutes after the launch around 6:50 p.m. (EDT),” said Daugherty. “It’s kind of a cool double show there for everyone.”

While spectators on the East Coast will be able to experience the launch in person, others in the United States and around the world will have the opportunity to watch the Antares rocket launch live on Space.com beginning at 5:45 p.m. EDT.

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