Human World Space

In the US East? Look up for Sunday’s resupply mission launch

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February 7, 2020

Map of US east coast with concentric circles in different colors centered on a point on the coast. — View larger. | Are you in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region on Sunday? Look up! This map indicates when (in seconds) and where to look up in the sky after the launch on Sunday, February 9, 2020, of a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, going up from Wallops, carrying the company’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft on a resupply mission to ISS. The launch is targeted for 5:39 p.m. EST Sunday. Image via NASA.

On Sunday, February 9, 2020, the next resupply services mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Target time for launch of the Cygnus spacecraft, via an Antares rocket, is 22:39 UTC (5:39 p.m. EST); translate UTC to your time. Given clear skies and good viewing conditions, the launch may be visible to residents throughout the mid-Atlantic region and possibly the East Coast of the United States. See the map above, and visit this NASA page for further details, if you plan to watch in the sky.

If you’re not in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region, you can also watch live coverage of the Cygnus launch on NASA TV and the agency’s website. TV coverage begins Sunday at 22:00 UTC (5 p.m. EST).

This will be Northrop Grumman’s 13th commercial resupply mission to ISS using its Cygnus cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft will be loaded with approximately 8,000 pounds (3,600 kg) of research, crew supplies, and hardware.

The Cygnus spacecraft will arrive at the space station on Tuesday, February 11. ISS astronauts will capture Cygnus with the station’s robotic arm and install the spacecraft.

Cygnus is scheduled to stay at the space station until May 11, when it will depart the orbiting laboratory. Cygnus will dispose of several tons of trash during a fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere on May 25.

Slender cylindrical rocket launching above billowing clouds of steam. — A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus resupply spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia November 2, 2019. Image via NASA/ Bill Ingalls.

Bottom line: Watch launch of Cygnus resupply mission to the ISS on February 9, 2020.

Via NASA

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February 7, 2020

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Eleanor Imster

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About the Author:

Eleanor Imster has helped write and edit EarthSky since 1995. She was an integral part of the award-winning EarthSky radio series almost since it began until it ended in 2013. She and her husband live in Tennessee, where they enjoy guitar playing and singing. They have 2 grown sons.