Rocket Lab’s Virginia rocket launch puts on pre-dawn show along Eastern Seaboard Thursday morning
According to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, the launch could have been visible on the East Coast along coastal Virginia and in major mid-Atlantic cities, including Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. About 3 minutes after liftoff, the launch could be seen as far inland as Pittsburgh and Raleigh, North Carolina.
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FILE VIDEO: Re-watch the Rocket Lab Electron rocket liftoff on July 18 from New Zealand carrying NASA and commercial payloads to space. (Video by Rocket Lab)
WALLOPS, Va. – Rocket Lab launched its Electron rocket in the pre-dawn hours on Thursday, sending a national security mission into orbit from Virginia.
Rocket Lab was targeting Thursday at 2:40 a.m. EDT to launch the National Reconnaissance Office (NROL-123) mission from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops, Virginia. After a hold in the countdown, the rocket blasted off at 3:25 a.m. EDT.
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This marked the first national security mission Rocket Lab launched from its new U.S. launchpad. The company launched four previous NRO missions from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. This was the fourth launch from Virginia since the company began operating from the launch site in January 2023.
"We are proud to once again deliver mission success for the NRO on Electron," Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said in a statement. "The NRO have placed their trust in Rocket Lab since our first launch together in 2020 and it’s an honor to continue delivering dedicated access to orbit for national security missions, this time from the other side of the planet."
![Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle lifts-off from Launch Complex 2 at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virgnia, deploying payloads for the NRO.]()
Image 1 of 3Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle lifts-off from Launch Complex 2 at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virgnia, deploying payloads for the NRO.( Image Credit Austin Adams/Rocket Lab) (Rocket Lab)
![Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle lifts-off from Launch Complex 2 at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virgnia, deploying payloads for the NRO.]()
Image 2 of 3Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle lifts-off from Launch Complex 2 at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virgnia, deploying payloads for the NRO. (Image Credit Austin Adams/Rocket Lab) (Rocket Lab)
![Rocket Lab's Electron rocket stands at Launch Complex 2 in Virginia ahead of the NROL-123 launch.]()
Image 3 of 3Rocket Lab's Electron rocket stands at Launch Complex 2 in Virginia ahead of the NROL-123 launch. (Image: Rocket Lab) (Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab's tradition is to provide a unique name for each mission. This company called this mission "Live and Let Fly."
The weather did not cause any issues for Wallops Range weather forecasters heading into Thursday morning.
A cold front moved into the Wallops area on Wednesday evening, bringing breezy conditions and partly cloudy skies. The primary concern was a slight chance of ground winds above flight operation constraints, according to the range.
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According to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, the launch could have been visible on the East Coast along coastal Virginia and in major mid-Atlantic cities, including Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia. About 3 minutes after liftoff, the launch could be seen as far inland as Pittsburgh and Raleigh, North Carolina.
NRO's payload was deployed in orbit about 1 hour after liftoff.