{"id":16898,"date":"2014-10-26T18:42:11","date_gmt":"2014-10-26T10:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-launch-could-dazzle-u-s-east-coast\/"},"modified":"2014-10-26T18:42:11","modified_gmt":"2014-10-26T10:42:11","slug":"rocket-launch-could-dazzle-u-s-east-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-launch-could-dazzle-u-s-east-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket launch could dazzle U.S. East Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated after the scrub of Monday\u2019s launch attempt.<\/p>\n

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The Antares rocket on the launch pad at Wallops Island, Va. Credit: NASA\/Joel Kowsky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Skywatchers along the U.S. East Coast have a chance of getting a unique light show from Tuesday evening\u2019s launch of an Antares rocket from Virginia\u2019s Eastern Shore.<\/p>\n

The 14-story rocket is set for liftoff at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT) from launch pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a launch complex owned by the state of Virginia at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility.<\/p>\n

The rocket will arc southeast from the Eastern Shore, soaring to an orbit nearly 200 miles above Earth lifting nearly 5,000 pounds of cargo in pursuit of the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s flight will blast off about 15 minutes after sunset, marking the Antares rocket\u2019s first launch at night. The booster\u2019s four previous missions lifted off in daylight.<\/p>\n

With clear skies forecast over much of the East Coast on Tuesday evening, spectators from the Carolinas to southern New England \u2014 and inland to West Virginia and Central Pennsylvania \u2014 could see the rocket rise into space if they find an area clear of obstructions like buildings and trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue 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\u2019ll be able to see the rocket pretty much up and down the entire Eastern seaboard from about Connecticut to South Carolina,\u201d said Sarah Daugherty, a test director at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility.<\/p>\n

\"This
This map shows the Antares rocket\u2019s visibility along the U.S. East Coast, including the maximum elevation the launch will achieve in the sky. Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Officials expect the rocket could be illuminated by the sun once it reaches the upper atmosphere a few minutes after liftoff. When it does catch sunlight, the rocket\u2019s exhaust plume could be lit like a bright white cloud visible from hundreds of miles around.<\/p>\n

For onlookers close to the rocket\u2019s launch site, expect to hear the thunder-like sound from the booster\u2019s two kerosene-fueled AJ26 engines. Those hoping to catch a glimpse from more than few dozen miles away should see the rocket as a bright orange dot rising in the sky.<\/p>\n

Night launches from Virginia have dazzled spectators before. In viewing range from East Coast metropolitan areas like New York City and Washington, D.C. \u2014 places where rocket launches are rarely observed \u2014 Monday\u2019s liftoff could have a special show in store.<\/p>\n

A nighttime blastoff of a solid-fueled Minotaur 5 rocket in September 2013 was visible across the Mid-Atlantic region, helping photographers produce spectacular photos from hundreds of miles away.<\/p>\n

\"A
A Minotaur 5 rocket was visible from New York City during a September 2013 launch from Wallops Island, Va. Credit: Ben Cooper\/Launchphotography.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tuesday\u2019s launch is the third flight in an eight-mission batch of resupply runs to the International Space Station conducted by Orbital Sciences Corp.<\/p>\n

The spaceport in Virginia has hosted thousands of launches of smaller suborbital sounding rockets, but the Antares rocket set for liftoff Tuesday is the most powerful launcher to ever fly from Wallops Island.<\/p>\n

It features an upgraded second stage offering extra power on the rocket\u2019s trip into space, making it capable of lifting more cargo.<\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Updated after the scrub of Monday\u2019s launch attempt. The Antares rocket on the launch pad at Wallops Island, Va. Credit: NASA\/Joel Kowsky Skywatchers along the U.S. East Coast have a chance of getting a unique light show from Tuesday evening\u2019s launch of an Antares rocket from Virginia\u2019s Eastern Shore. The 14-story rocket is set for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1871,3900,2260,1699],"class_list":["post-16898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-antares","tag-orb-3","tag-orbital-sciences","tag-wallops-island"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16898"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16898\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}