Get Ready Warren: NASA’s Rocket Launch to be Visible Wednesday Night

A NASA rocket launch scheduled for this evening is expected to be visible along parts of the N.C. coast.

“Residents from Long Island, New York, 235 miles north of the launch site, to Morehead City, North Carolina, 232 miles south, 165 miles west in Charlottesville, Virginia – and everyone in between – could get a glimpse of the colorful evening launch”, NASA says. We may not see any of that technology for a few years-but tonight, starting at 7:00 pm ET, look up and see the handsome evidence of its launch (and post your pictures!). The ejected sub-payloads will release the vapor at about 130 miles above the Earth.

Gauges mounted on the rocket will measure the strain on a section made using “near net shape” technology, in which the part is forged in one step rather than through the longer and more costly machine-and-weld process, according to a news release.

The main goal of Wednesday’s launch is to test the performance of the two-stage Black Brant IX, which will be flying with a reformulated motor, NASA officials said.

NASA is testing a sounding rocket-which are used to launch payloads like satellites and other orbital payloads-that’s been modified using a few emerging fabrication tech, new materials, and 3D printing, too.

They plan on launching barium and strontium, which will create a blue green cloud between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

(The launch has to be very carefully scheduled, because the chemicals need sunlight to become luminescent, but the observer needs to be watching a dark sky.) NASA is also notes that the amount of barium and strontium used in the test “is much smaller than that used in a typical July 4th fireworks display and poses no hazard to the community”. All sponsorships and donations are tax-deductible.