Here in Upstate New York, it's pretty rare for us to see a rocket launch from NASA. If the odds play in our favor, that may change this week.

NASA is set to launch a “Black Brant XII sounding rocket” from their Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia this SATURDAY (May 8, 2021) at 8:02PM. If Mother Nature plays nice for us, the launch should be visible all across the eastern seaboard.

If you are hoping to catch a glimpse of the rocket on Friday evening, it should be visible to our southeast between 30-60 seconds after launch (assuming the launch goes off on time at 8:02 p.m)."

According to CBS Boston, New York State should be able to watch the launch 30 - 60 seconds after it launches. We should be able to see a streak in the sky around 8:03PM. Of course, weather is a factor.

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What Is The NASA Mission Anyways?

The mission is called KiNet-X. The main goal is to study how energy and momentum is transported between regions of space that are connected magnetically.

This study will help scientists better understand things like Auroras and how they are formed and their movement from place to place.

The mission will be launched on The Black Brant XII-A four stage rocket with a Talos first stage, Terrier second stage, Black Brant third stage and a Nihka fourth stage. The Black Brant can launch payloads weighing from 300 to 1000 pounds. You can read more on the mission here.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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