NASA rocket launch was delayed Saturday morning because of an unexpected visitor, a stray plane
Programming King
NASA rocket launch is delayed on Saturday morning thanks to an unexpected visitor: a stray plane.
“We have confirmed that the aircraft that aborted today's launch attempt was a small aircraft flying at about 500ft approximately 6 miles offshore,” according to the space agency’s Twitter account for the Orbital ATK.
In a later tweet, it was confirmed that the spacecraft remains “healthy” and is all set to launch. The Orbital ATK Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft will now attempt to blast off on Sunday at 7:14 a.m. EST, according to a statement from NASA.
As the rocket launches from the Wallops Flight Facility in northern Virginia, it may be visible to many along the East Coast, Space.com reported. Depending on the weather, the rocket may possibly be seen from Connecticut to South Carolina—but there’s a catch.
"We'll be flying into the sunrise, so it may make it a little harder to view it far down range," Kurt Eberly, Antares deputy program manager at Orbital ATK, said during a news conference, according to Space.com. "But near range, it should be plenty viewable."
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