NASA Rocket Launch From Wallops Island May Be Visible Across Maryland

MARYLAND — Residents across Maryland should be able to watch a 59-foot-tall Electron rocket streak through the sky after it lifts off from a NASA facility early Thursday, officials said.

The Wallops Flight Facility will support an overnight launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron, a 59-foot rocket weighing 28,000 pounds. The rocket is set to blast off from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 2:40 a.m. Thursday, March 21, with a four-hour launch window running through 6:30 a.m., NASA said.

The mission, named NROL-123, is a dedicated launch for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Currently, weather is 80 percent favorable for launch; a slight chance of high ground winds is the only concern, NASA said earlier. The National Weather Service forecast for the launch site Wednesday night calls for mostly clear skies and breezy, with a west wind 14 to 21 mph becoming northwest in the evening.

The NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center and grounds will not be open for launch viewing.. A livestream will be hosted on Rocket Lab’s YouTube channel; the stream will begin about 40 minutes before the opening of the launch window.

The launch may be visible along the East Coast, weather permitting.

For those interested in viewing the launch in person, viewing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park, Curtis Merritt Harbor, and the Beach Road causeway between Chincoteague and Assateague islands.

The Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Atlantic beaches also provide good viewing locations.