East Coast commuters may see streak of fire in morning sky. NASA offers explanation
Early morning commuters along the East Coast may see a ball of fire blaze across the sky Thursday, March 21, and NASA is getting out front with a sensible explanation.
A 59-foot-tall Rocket Lab Electron rocket is being launched from Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, sometime between 2:40 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., according to a news release.
Weather permitting, the rocket’s trail of fire may be visible across a vast swath of the eastern United States, from southern Maine to northern Georgia, and as far west as central Ohio and Kentucky.
The farther west you are, the more delay time you’ll experience before it comes into view, experts say. That means people in eastern Tennessee, Ohio and Virginia may not see the aerial spectacle until three minutes after launch.
Rocket Lab also plans to broadcast the launch on its YouTube channel, officials say.
The mission is on behalf of National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and weather conditions are 80% favorable, with “high ground winds” counted as the only concern, NASA says.
“This will be the first launch for the NRO from the United States after previously launching four NRO missions from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula,” SatNews reports.
“NRO missions provide critical information to more than a half-million government users, including every member of the Intelligence Community, two dozen domestic agencies, the military, lawmakers, and decision makers.”
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