NASA Wallops Island Launch Next Tuesday Evening

If you've never seen a space launch up close and in person (well, as close as you can get as a civilian), here's the chance to make up for it. Grab the kids, binoculars (it gets far, far away really fast), camera, popcorn and drinks and head out to Wallops Island's Goddard Space Flight Center on Tuesday and get a good seat for one of the most thrilling events you'll ever witness. Be prepared for loud noise and bright lights!

The weather forecast calls for clear skies, only a 10% chance of rain all day, and 24 hour temperatures between 60 and 79 degrees, so it's a very good chance that the launch will be a "Go" as scheduled.

"The Air Force Research Laboratory’s TacSat-3 satellite will launch May 5 on an Air Force Minotaur I rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The launch window on May 5 will run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. TacSat-3 features three revolutionary trials: the Raytheon Company-built Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective Military Imaging Spectrometer hyperspectral imager, the Office of Naval Research's Satellite Communications Package, and the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Avionics Experiment.

This trio of payloads will offer real-time imagery (within 10 minutes of collection), sea-based information transmitted from ocean buoys and plug-and-play avionics to assist the warfighter in keeping one step ahead of the adversary.

The PharmaSat experiment, developed by NASA’s Ames Research Center and will measure the influence of microgravity upon yeast resistance to an antifungal agent. PharmaSat focuses on questions key to countermeasure development for long-term space travel and habitation.

Three cubesats will be launched as secondary payloads on the TacSat-3 mission. The satellites, which contain their own power and data systems, are four-inch cubes that weigh 2.2 pounds each. The cubesats are being provided by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif. and the Hawk Institute for Space Sciences, Pocomoke City, Md. During the rocket’s ascent, each cubesat will be deployed separately from the P-POD into space.

Launch Information: The TacSat-3 mission is scheduled for launch on the evening of May 5, 2009. The window runs through May 9. The launch window on May 5 is from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.Viewing the LaunchThe launch will be visible in the mid-Atlantic region. Locally, the NASA Visitor Center on Va. Route 175 and the beach at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge/Assateague National Seashore will be open to view the launch.

Launch Status: Prior to the start of the countdown on launch day, updates on the status of the launch will be provided on this web page and on the Wallops launch status line at 757-824-2050. On the day of the launch, updates will be provided on the status line and radio station 760 AM, which has a range of about 5 miles from the NASA Visitor Center. In addition, the launch will be web cast at http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/webcast/ Countdown status also will be available during the countdown on Twitter at http://twitter.com/NASA_Wallops

Launch Vehicle Information: TacSat-3 will be launched on board a Minotaur 1 rocket, integrated by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC). The Minotaur 1 is a four-stage vehicle, two stages being refurbished Minuteman II stages and the two stages being OSC developed. The Minotaur is about 70 feet tall and 5 feet wide."