Look Up! NASA Rocket Launch Should Be Visible Wednesday Evening

Residents of Virginia should get a glimpse of a spectacular event Wednesday evening — a NASA rocket launch.

According to NASA, between 7 and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, residents in the mid-Atlantic region may see NASA’s next suborbital launch. The rocket is launching from the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia coast.

“Approximately six minutes after launch, the sounding rocket will deploy four sub-payloads containing mixtures of barium and strontium will be released, creating a cloud that is blue-green and red in color,” NASA said on its website.

That means, residents from as far away as 235 miles north of the launch site to 232 miles south and 165 miles west — and everyone in between — could get a glimpse of the “colorful” evening launch, NASA said.

You can watch the launch online.

NASA says Wednesday’s launch of the suborbital flight will test a modified Black Brant sounding rocket motor and launch vehicle and spacecraft systems as well as sub-payload ejection technologies.

Sound complicated? Just enjoy the view.

According to the National Weather Service, the clouds could get in our way. It’s expected to be mostly cloudy in the region on Wednesday evening and then partly cloudy Wednesday night.