Forecast: Clouds Could Block North Jersey's View Of Weekend Rocket Launch

New Jersey may not see a rocket launch off the coast of Virginia this weekend, after all: The National Weather Service on Friday forecast a cloudy Sunday night -- and possible rain -- in the Garden State.

An Orbital ATK Antares rocket first stage fires its RD-181 main engines during a May test at Wallops Island, VA.
Photo Credit: *COURTESY: NASA*

Jerry DeMarco

10/14/2016 6:08 p.m.

The private spaceflight company Orbital ATK is launching one of its Antares rockets bearing a Cygnus cargo ship sometime after 8 p.m. because of poor weather that's expected at a launch tracking site in Bermuda, Space.com reports.

This comes two years after one of the company's rockets exploded seconds after liftoff.

The rocket, launched from Wallops (Island) Flight Facility in Virginia, is to carry 5,100 pounds of cargo for NASA to the International Space Station. It will be the sixth cargo-delivery mission to the station.

If the weather cooperates Sunday night, New Jersey viewers can see what looks like a bright, moving star if they look south-southwest two minutes after launch (As of Friday, launch time was 8:03 p.m.).

NASA TV will broadcast the launch: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public

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