Launch scheduled for 12:36 pm today

The next launch of a Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket is targeted for 12:36 p.m., Saturday. February 20, 2021, from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Antares, launching from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s pad 0A, will carrying the company’s Cygnus spacecraft loaded with NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This will be Northrop Grumman’s 15th commercial resupply services mission to the space station.

Since the mission will occur during daylight hours it will not be as visible as a launch at night. However, depending on cloud cover, it still may be visible from the mid-Atlantic region. NASA TV coverage for the mission will begin at noon on launch day. Live stream of the countdown will begin around 7:30 a.m. on the Wallops Ustream site. The NASA Visitor Center will be closed on launch day. For launch updates, follow the NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Facebook or Twitter.

Each resupply mission to the station delivers scientific investigations in the areas of biology and biotechnology, Earth and space science, physical sciences, and technology development and demonstrations. Research investigations launching to the orbiting laboratory aboard this Cygnus include: • The Spaceborne Computer-2 from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which aims to demonstrate that current Earth-based data processing of space station experimental data can be performed in orbit • An experiment studying muscle strength in worms • An investigation into how microgravity may optimize the production of artificial retinas

Cargo resupply from U.S. companies ensures a national capability to deliver critical science research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA’s ability to conduct new investigations at the only laboratory in space.