Don’t forget to take a peek outside Tuesday night.
A planned NASA rocket launch is expected to light up the night sky for those lucky enough to live in the East Coast—including Long Island.
The space agency is expected launch a U.S. Air Force Minotaur I rocket during a two-hour window from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday if the weather cooperates, NASA said.
The launch, which will feature the deployment of 29 satellites into space, could be visible from northern Florida to southern Canada and west to Indiana.
The rocket launch will take place at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
From NASA:
The ORS-3 Mission, also known as an enabler mission, will demonstrate and validate launch and range improvements for NASA and the military. These include automated trajectory targeting, range-safety planning and flight termination systems. The launch also will be part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) certification process for the Minotaur rocket. The FAA has licensing authority over American commercial rockets.
The Minotaur’s primary payload is the Space Test Program Satellite-3 (STPSat-3), an Air Force technology-demonstration mission. Thirteen small cubesats aboard are being provided through NASA’s Cubesat Launch Initiative. Among the cubesats is NASA’s Small Satellite Program PhoneSat 2 second generation smartphone mission. Also included is the first cubesat built by high school students.
Of course, you don’t have to leave your couch if you’re not into this sort of thing. And we’re pretty sure social media will light up with images and videos of the launch for your viewing pleasure later on. Still, you might not want to miss this.
You can also use your smartphone or tablet to watch the launch live here while staring at the sky.
