Plans Friday night? Watch a NASA rocket launch visible in NJ

If skies stay clear for much of New Jersey Friday evening then you have a date. A date with a rocket launch.

Of course, conditions will have to be clear in Virginia too at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility where a launch window is set from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for Rocket Lab USA’s first Electron rocket.

At present, there’s a 40% possibility of rain at Wallops. But if all systems are go, the launch could be visible from New Jersey as well as New York, Pennsylvania, most of our east coast and even parts of the midwest.

The purpose of the mission, cleverly named “Virginia is for Launch Lovers,” is to deploy satellites to monitor radio frequencies for the data analytics company HawkEye 360. The 59-foot Electron rocket is set to take off at 6 p.m. but could go anywhere from 6 to 8 p.m.

Bill Ingalls/NASA

So how can you see it?

Again, if conditions are right, people in North and Central Jersey with 3 degrees elevation or more could have line of sight for roughly 90 to 120 seconds after launch and South Jersey for about 60 to 90 seconds to take it all in.

This is definitely a bucket list item of mine. Another thing I want to experience with my own eyes is a planned building implosion. Running with the bulls in Pamplona? Not so much.

If it’s a no-go Friday evening there are various backup launch days from Saturday through Dec. 20. And if it does launch Friday but clouds get in your way you can always watch it live on a screen here.

Godspeed, Major Tom.

LOOK: 31 breathtaking images from NASA's public library

In 2017, NASA opened the digital doors to its image and video library website, allowing the public to access more than 140,000 images, videos, and audio files. The collection provides unprecedented views of space. Stacker reviewed the collection to select 31 of the most breathtaking images, including the first from the James Webb Space Telescope. Keep reading to see these stunning images, curated with further information about the captured scenes.

LOOK: The states with the most UFO sightings

For each state, we’ve also included details of famous UFO sightings in that state. Of note is that almost three-quarters of all UFO sighting reports in the United States occur between 4 p.m. and midnight, and tend to peak between 9 and 10 p.m. Food for thought next time you're out scoping for alien life. Keep reading to see which states have had the most UFO sightings.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

Categories: Deminski & Doyle, Talking About ...