Rocket Launch Visible In New Jersey Skies Soon From NASA Facility

NEW JERSEY — You may be able to spy a rocket in the New Jersey skies soon as it lifts off from a NASA facility in Virginia, but the weather forecast has pushed the date back.

The Electron made by Rocket Lab USA was originally scheduled to launch from Wallops Flight Facility on Dec. 9 between 6 and 8 p.m. But, weather concerns caused the facility in eastern Virginia to postpone it to "no earlier than Dec. 13."

Backup launch days are scheduled between Dec. 10 and 20. Patch will keep an eye on Wallops' social media feeds and update readers when the launch date is announced.

On launch day, you may be able to see the rocket from your backyard — NASA says much of the east coast will see the 59-foot-tall rocket as it lifts off from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island.

Some Garden States residents might see the Electron rising for up to two minutes.

"From a distance, Electron will appear like a bright, fast-moving star climbing upward through the night sky," the Wallops Flight Facility said.

Southern New Jersey residents could see the rocket for up to 90 seconds, NASA said. And those in North and Central Jersey might see it for 90-120 seconds after takeoff — if skies are clear enough in both locations.

NASA said the Electron will deploy radio frequency monitoring satellites for HawkEye 360.

"With this mission, NASA is helping foster a growing low-Earth space economy and continues Wallops' 35-year history of support to the commercial launch industry," NASA said.

This is the first Rocket Lab USA Electron launch from Wallops, NASA said, and they've nicknamed this project “Virginia is for Launch Lovers."

A live webcast will stream at www.rocketlabusa.com/live-stream about 40 minutes before launch.