space

The Antares Rocket Launch Could Be Visible Along the East Coast. Here’s How to Watch

By Jamie Ducharme
Orbital ATK CRS-8 Mission
WALLOPS ISLAND, VA - NOVEMBER 12: In this handout provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A on November 12, 2017 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. Orbital ATK's eighth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver approximately 7,400 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. (Photo Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
Bill Ingalls—NASA via Getty Images

An Orbital ATK Antares rocket will launch a commercial cargo spacecraft hurtling toward space early Monday morning — and you don’t have to be at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to see it.

The Antares rocket, which is set to launch at 4:39 a.m. ET on May 21, will be visible to large swaths of the East Coast, weather permitting. Viewers from Massachusetts down to South Carolina, and roughly as far west as Pittsburgh, should be able to see the Antares spacecraft as it begins its ascent, Space.com reports. If you’re outside the spectating zone, you can watch a livestream of the rocket launch on NASA TV.

Nearby visitors can also view the launch from NASA’s Wallops Visitor Center.

(Image credit: Orbital ATK)Visibility map for the Orbital ATK CRS-9 launch.

The Antares rocket was supposed to launch on Sunday, but the mission — which is called OA-9, and is intended to deliver more than three tons of supplies to the International Space Station — was postponed due to weather concerns and last-minute flight checks, according to Space.com.

If weather proves a problem on Monday, back-up launch dates are scheduled as far out as May 25, NASA told Space.com.

Orbital weathered a major setback in 2014, when one of its Antares rockets suffered a “catastrophic” crash. NASA, however, has continued to award Orbital supply mission contracts, along with SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space flight company.