Saturday Night NASA Rocket Launch Could Be Visible in the Evansville Area
If you have ever wanted to see a NASA rocket launch, you might have the chance this Saturday right here in the Evansville area.
Space has always fascinated me. That's why I took three years of Astronomy classes. Something about it is just so interesting. I have always thought that it would be cool to see a NASA rocket launch one day. You see these rocket launches on TV and you just can't help but be in awe of it actually going into space. Imagine what seeing it in real life must be...
It appears that I might actually get my wish without actually having to travel to the launch site. NASA will be launching its Black Brant XII sounding rocket from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The launch was originally scheduled for Friday night but has been pushed back due to the weather. The mission is currently scheduled for no earlier than 8:02 p.m. EDT with a 40-minute launch window, Saturday, May 8. According to NASA, his rocket launch "may be visible, weather permitting, in much of the eastern United States from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River."
That means that we here in the Evansville area might be able to catch a glimpse of the rocket launch in the sky. How exciting is that?! We will want to look in the eastern sky on Saturday night around 7:02 p.m. CST to try to spot the rocket.
If the weather here cooperates, we will have roughly about 90-120 seconds to see the rocket post-launch. According to NASA, "Two vapor clouds will form north of Bermuda about 9 minutes and 30 seconds after launch as part of the mission and may also be visible from eastern United States and Bermuda."
Backup launch days run through May 16, in the event that they can't launch on Saturday. Either way, I'm super excited about potentially being able to see this rocket launch. The inner nerd in me is coming out!
You can learn more about this rocket launch and its mission by visiting NASA's website.
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