NASA Rocket Launch Set For Tuesday, Best VA Viewing Spots

WALLOPS ISLAND, VA — Residents across Virginia should be able to watch the Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket streak through the sky after it lifts off from a NASA facility Tuesday night, officials said.

The Wallops Flight Facility launch of the rocket carrying the SubTEC-9 technology demonstration was first set for Monday but was scrubbed because of issues with payload instrumentation. The next launch opportunity is Tuesday, April 25, with a 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. ET launch window, NASA said.

"Our countdown is proceeding for the SubTEC-9 technology demonstration. The teams are working through final launch steps, and we'll have an updated launch time soon. The window runs from 7:15 to 8:15 p.m. ET," NASA Wallops tweeted about 4:20 p.m

According to the National Weather Service, Wallops Island should have clear skies during the day with a north wind of 7 mph. On Tuesday night, the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, with a low around 50 degrees, and a southwest wind of 6 mph.

The launch of a sounding rocket for the Suborbital Technology Experiment Carrier (SubTEC-9) mission will test new star tracker technology and a faster telemetry link, tweeted the NASA Wallops account.

The Wallops Visitor Center’s launch viewing area will open at 6:15 p.m. for launch viewing.

Coverage of the mission will begin 15 minutes before launch on the Wallops YouTube channel.

Since the first SubTEC launch in 2005, the SubTEC missions have allowed the sounding rocket team to test and demonstrate new or improved technologies before their use on science missions.

“The SubTEC-9 mission is a test flight used to test 14 new technology development experiments that enable new capabilities for the science community,” said Josh Yacobucci, the principal investigator for the mission and sounding rocket technology manager at Wallops Flight Facility.

The telemetry link will transmit data from the rocket to the ground in real time, monitoring the rocket's performance and tracking its progress. The technology will enable data speeds four times faster than currently provided. SubTEC is also testing a new smaller star tracker which is a sensor used in attitude control systems to align to a target of interest in space.

Some of the other experiments being tested include 3D-printed electronics circuits, ethernet-based components, a low-cost gyro, a new antenna, and a new high-density battery.

SubTEC-9 is expected to reach an altitude of about 108 miles before descending by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean to be recovered.

Backup launch days are April 26 through 28.

The launch may be visible to residents throughout much of the East Coast.

For those interested in viewing the launch in person, viewing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park, Curtis Merritt Harbor, and the Beach Road causeway between Chincoteague and Assateague islands are good spots.

The Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Atlantic beaches also provide good viewing locations.

Or you can view the launch online through Rocket Lab’s livestream of the event, which will begin about 40 minutes before the opening of the launch window.