People along the east coast of the United States need to get a great opportunity to see a rocket launch from their own yards tonight.Weather permitting, observers from Massachusetts to the Carolinas could see an-bound Cygnus spacecraft launch atop a two-stage Antares rocket tonight( Oct. 1 ), launching from NASA’s on Wallops Island, Virginia. NASA business cargo provider is introducing
the mission, which will provide nearly 8,000 lbs.(3,600 kilograms) of supplies, marking the business’s 14th resupply objective to the International Spaceport Station for NASA. Liftoff is set for 9:38 p.m. EDT(0138 GMT on Friday, Oct.
2)from Pad 0A at Wallops tonight. and on Space.com’s homepage beginning at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT ). You can likewise. What to expect Did You Know? (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani) You can print out a NASA virtual launch
after the launch!If you remain in the immediate area, seeing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park on Main Street or Beach Roadway spanning the location between
Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. The beach at the Assateague Island National Seashore/Chincoteague National Wildlife Sanctuary will not be open throughout the launch.NASA has supplied a, however views of the rocket launch vary depending on where along the East Coast you live. The further away you are from the launch site, the closer to the
horizon the rocket will be.As a reference, your clenched fist held at arm’s length is roughly 10 degrees in width. If a skywatcher is trying to spot the launch from New york city City, for example, the acme Antares
will reach is roughly 9 degrees above the horizon. It’s unlikely that you will have the ability to view the launch when it’s less than 5 degrees above the horizon, because buildings, vegetation and other surface functions will probably get in the method. will reach 5 degrees above the horizon about 150 seconds after launch.The Antares launch will be noticeable along the East Coast by virtue of the light released from its 2 phases. The very first stage uses kerosene and liquid oxygen as propellants, powering two Russian-built RD-181 engines, producing more than 860,000 pounds. of thrust.The rocket need to appear as a bright, moving star. Observers who use field glasses may be able to see a small V-shaped contrail, which harmlessly separates in the atmosphere and falls into the Atlantic Ocean.Arcing over the Atlantic Ocean, the rocket will pass the speed of noise and shut down its liquid-fueled primary engines about 210 seconds after liftoff. After rejecting its first phase, payload fairing and an interstage connecting adapter, the Antares 2nd stage Castor 30XL solid-fueled motor will spark to inject the 16,928 lbs.(7,678 kilograms)Cygnus spacecraft into orbit.The 2nd stage will appear farther downrange and at a lower elevation than where the first phase shutdown appeared. The trajectory will appear to dip back toward Earth as the rocket moves further away from the observer and vanishes beyond the horizon. However the rocket, obviously, is not going back to Earth– it is continuing its climb, speeding greater and much faster toward area. Where to focus your gaze
About the objective
Must this evening’s launch be scrubbed, the time of liftoff will fall back by roughly 23 minutes each day. As an example, a rescheduled launch attempt for Friday (Oct. 2) would come at around 9:15 p.m. EDT (0115 GMT).
If the rocket launches tonight, the Cygnus spacecraft, called the, will get to the spaceport station on Sunday, Oct. 4. Expedition commander Chris Cassidy of NASA will grapple Cygnus and flight engineer Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos will serve as a backup. After Cygnus capture, objective control in Houston will send out ground commands for the station’s robotic arm to turn and install it on the bottom of the station’s Unity module. The objective will provide a brand-new toilet, a crop of radishes, cancer research and virtual truth innovation along with 8,000 pounds. (3,600 kg) of crew supplies and hardware.Cygnus is arranged to
remain at the spaceport station until mid-December. Following departure, the pill will conduct the next installation of an, then get rid of numerous loads of garbage during a fiery re-entry into Earth’s environment roughly 2 weeks later.Editor’s Note
:If you snap an image of tonight’s launch and wish to share it with Space.com’s readers for a potential story or gallery, send your images, comments, and your name and area to spacephotos@space.com!.?.!. Joe Rao functions as an instructor and guest speaker at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He composes about astronomy for Nature publication, the Farmers’ Almanac and other publications. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
