NASA rocket launch visible from the Mid-Atlantic rescheduled for Friday evening

UPDATE: NASA and Northrop Grumman announced late Thursday evening that they would be targeting Friday at 9:16.

Thursday's countdown was stopped 2 minutes, 21 seconds before launch when a problem with ground equipment, not the rocket itself. It was the third launch to postponed within 24 hours with both SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites and United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy launch of a reconnaissance satellite both postponed as well.

The launch weather forecast in Virginia had been upgraded to 90% go for Thursday's attempt. A new launch weather forecast will be issued later today and is expected to be similarly optimistic as clouds which moved in overnight clear out this morning leaving clear and colder conditions tonight.

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NASA and Northrop Grumman plan the launch of a Cygnus spacecraft Thursday night atop an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia Eastern Shore.

Weather permitting, the launch will be visible from the Carolinas to Connecticut. Night launches such as these can be easier to see from hundreds of miles from the launch site. Look for a dim point of light rising from the east northeast moving up and to the right between 9:18 and 9:24 p.m. Friday night.

A clear view of the northeastern to eastern sky will provide the best view. The darker your skies and the fewer houses, trees and other clutter on the horizon the better.

The five-minute launch window opens at 9:16 p.m., but you'll need to wait a few minutes after launch to see it. Due to the curvature of the Earth, the rocket will not reach altitude visible to the Triangle southeast to Wilmington until just over 2.5 minutes after launch. Elizabeth City and northern areas of the Outer Banks will see it about a minute earlier.

Residents of upper floors of downtown Raleigh apartment buildings will also have a good seat for the show.

The latest launch weather forecast shows 70% go conditions at the launch site. Here in central North Carolina, the forecasts calls for mostly clear skies in the mid 60s around launch time with clouds increasing overnight.

The launch will bring 7,758 of scientific research, supplies and hardware for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

In addition to the standard menu and crew specific food containers, NASA shared the list of crew-requested shelf stable and fresh food included in the cargo:

Garlic, apples, baby carrots, grapefruit, oranges, cherry tomatoes, brie, prosciutto, chorizo, dark chocolate-covered cranberries, genoa salami, hot chocolate, praline pecans, smoked gouda, smoked provolone, summer sausage and cakebites.

Cygnus will stay attached for approximately three months when it will be detached from the station and move on to its extended mission.

Northrop Grumman announced in September that the spacecraft would be named for NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first India-born woman to enter space. Chawla was lost along with her six crewmates in 2003 during mission STS-107 when the Space Shuttle Columbia did not survive its return to Earth.