Rocket Lab to launch Capella Space Project Saturday

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia will support a launch of Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket March 11. The two-hour launch window is set to open at 6 p.m. EST.

The 59-foot-tall Electron rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 2 at Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island. The mission, named “Stronger Together,” will be the second Rocket Lab launch from Wallops, with the first occurring in January 2023. The mission is a dedicated launch for satellite manufacturer and Earth observation company Capella Space.

With this mission, NASA helps foster a growing low-Earth space economy and continues Wallops’ 35-year history of support to the commercial launch industry.

For those interested in viewing the launch in person, viewing locations on Chincoteague Island include Robert Reed Park, Curtis Merritt Harbor, and the Beach Road causeway between Chincoteague and Assateague islands. The NASA Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center and grounds will not be open for launch viewing but will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. for those looking for additional launch viewing information.

The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents throughout much of the East Coast of the United States. The launch can also be viewed online through Rocket Lab’s livestream of the event, which will begin about 40 minutes before the opening of the launch window.