Watch A Rocket Launch Over The Jersey Shore

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility will be launching a rocket from their base in Virginia next week, July 15th!

According to NASA, a Minotaur IV rocket carrying a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is scheduled for launch, and will be the first mission for the US Space Force to launch from the Wallops Flight Facility.

A classified payload for the National Recon Office, eh? That doesn't sound fishy at all! What could the Space Force be hiding from us? Please let this be our attempt to contact aliens.

Wallops has been the site for a lot of launches lately, and every time I think to myself that I should take the quick trip to Virginia to watch it in person. Then, I remember all the delays and postponements that plague most of the launches, and I pass on the road trip. This time around, due to pandemic restrictions, the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will not be open. If you want to watch the launch, the best bet will be to tune into the Wallops YouTube channel starting at 8:30am on July 15th.

If you want to see the launch with your own eyes, you'll need to be looking south-southeast. If you live in South Jersey (Cape May County, Atlantic County, up to Ocean County) you should be able to see the rocket about 60 seconds after launch; Monmouth County and anything north in Jersey will see the rocket after about 90 seconds.

If you can't tune in for the livestream on YouTube or watch the launch yourself, mission information, including photos, will be available on the NRO, NASA Wallops, and Northrop Grumman websites, and their respective Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Follow Wallops on Facebook for any updates.