NASA: How to Watch Northrop Gruman’s October 1st Launch to International Space Station

five-minute launch window opens at 9:38 p.m

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman is targeting Thursday, Oct. 1, for the launch of its 14th resupply mission to the International Space Station.

The five-minute launch window opens at 9:38 p.m. EDT.

Loaded with nearly 8,000 pounds of research, crew supplies, and hardware, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft will launch on the company’s Antares rocket from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The latest Wallops Launch Range forecast, issued this afternoon, remains at 70% probability for favorable weather. Cloud ceilings and cloud cover are the main concerns.

The launch may be visible, weather permitting, and depending on other local conditions (such as elevation), to residents up and down the East Coast of the United States.

Map of the Mid-Atlantic showing predictions for visibility of the NG CRS-14 launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The numbers in each colored circle represent the number of seconds after liftoff that the launch might become visible in the associated region.

Due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will be CLOSED for this launch.

Register for email updates or RSVP to NASA Wallops’ Facebook event for social media updates to stay up-to-date on mission highlights.

The Cygnus spacecraft, dubbed the SS Kalpana Chawla, will arrive at the space station Sunday, Oct. 4. Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA will grapple Cygnus and Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos will act as a backup.

After Cygnus capture, mission control in Houston will send ground commands for the station’s robotic arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station’s Unity module.

Cygnus is scheduled to remain at the space station until mid-December when it will depart the station.

Following departure, the Saffire-V experiment will be conducted prior to Cygnus deorbit and disposing of several tons of trash during a fiery re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere approximately two weeks later.

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