Temporary flight restriction planned for rocket launch from Virginia

Drone operators are being urged to exercise caution if using their aircraft to view the Antares rocket launch and avoid flying over the public and NASA Wallops Flight Facility property in Virginia on Sunday.

Drones, also called unmanned aerial systems, should stay clear of Wallops Flight Facility, the marsh areas between Wallops Island and the mainland and the Atlantic Ocean east of Wallops Island. A Temporary Flight Restriction and other Special Use Airspace will be activated by the Federal Aviation Administration.  Fines and penalties are applicable and will be enforced, NASA said in a notice posted on their website.

“There will be several thousand people in the area viewing the launch,” the agency said. “Public safety is paramount and drones should not be flown over crowds. The Wallops Range is committed to making sure that the viewing public is safe and that drones do not pose a threat to the success and safety of launch operations.”

The Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch at 5:39 p.m. EST from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents throughout the mid-Atlantic region and possibly the East Coast of the United States.

This will be Northrop Grumman’s 13th commercial resupply services mission to deliver NASA science investigations, supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.

Cygnus cargo ship on its way to space station after launch from Virginia

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station with about 7,400 pounds of cargo after launching at 4:01 a.m. EST Saturday from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

The spacecraft launched on an Antares 230 Rocket from the Virginia Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0A at Wallops on the company's 10th cargo delivery flight, and is scheduled to arrive at the orbital laboratory on Monday. Expedition 57 astronauts Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA and Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) will use the space station's robotic arm to grapple Cygnus.

This resupply mission will support dozens of new and existing investigations as Expeditions 57 and 58 contribute to some 250 science and research studies. Highlights from the new experiments include a demonstration of 3D printing and recycling technology and simulating the creation of celestial bodies from stardust.

The Cygnus spacecraft will remain at the space station until February before its destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere, disposing of several thousand pounds of trash. This is the seventh flight of an enhanced Cygnus spacecraft, and the fourth using Northrop Grumman's upgraded Antares 230 launch vehicle featuring new RD-181 engines that provide increased performance and flexibility.

The spacecraft for this mission is named in honor of astronaut John Young. Young was selected for NASA's second astronaut class and flew during the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. He walked on the Moon during Apollo 16 in 1972 and commanded the first space shuttle mission in 1981. Young passed away in January.