NASA Rocket Launches Visible In VA Skies Monday: What To Know

WALLOPS ISLAND, VA — Three NASA rockets will soar into the atmosphere on Monday night and may be visible throughout most of Virginia, the space agency said.

The TOMEX+ sounding rockets will launch from the Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island on the Atlantic coast between 10 p.m. Monday and 3 a.m. Tuesday weather permitting, NASA said.

Most of Virginia will be able to see the launch of the rockets between 10 and 40 seconds after takeoff, according to estimates by NASA.

The National Weather Service forecast for the Eastern Shore calls for a chance of thunderstorms, then mostly cloudy skies Monday night.

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.

The TOMEX+ sounding rocket launch window opens tonight! 🚀🚀🚀

The window for the mission opens this evening, Aug. 25, at 10 p.m. EDT and runs through 3 a.m. The rockets will be launching from our launch facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. pic.twitter.com/o9nr2sziyM
— NASA Wallops (@NASAWallops) August 25, 2025

For those outside the local and regional viewing area, a livestream of the mission will begin 15 minutes before launch on the Wallops YouTube channel.

Launch updates are available via the Wallops Facebook page.

The rockets are part of a scientific mission to investigate the mesopause, "one of Earth’s most turbulent atmospheric regions," NASA says. Named Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiment Plus, or Tomex, the rockets aim to explore an area in the liminal zone where the earth's atmosphere transitions to outer space.

"It is the coldest layer of our atmosphere, where icy noctilucent — or 'night-shining' — clouds form and temperatures drop to nearly minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 100 degrees Celsius)," NASA said. "The mesopause is a mixing ground where weather patterns from the lower atmosphere transfer energy upward into space, fueling turbulence that can increase drag on satellites. This layer’s role linking Earth to space makes it a priority for research."

Because of its chaotic location at the edge of outer space, the mesopause is too high for weather balloons but also too low for satellites, meaning that only these specially designed rockets that are targeted at exact altitudes have a chance to gather data.

The project is led by University of New Hampshire physics professor Jim Clemmons.