Faced with barrage of criticism for fakery, on Tuesday morning, NASA will broadcast its first-ever rocket launch livestream in 360-degree video, providing an unprecedented vantage point that will make viewers feel as if they are standing on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.
The launch of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket—aimed at transporting supplies to the International Space Station—is scheduled for a 30-minute window beginning at 11:11 a.m. ET.
The 360-degree livestream will be accessible on the NASA Television YouTube channel starting 10 minutes prior to liftoff.
While the minimum safe viewing distance is typically miles away from the launch pad, this livestream promises viewers a much closer look at a powerful rocket launch, or what NASA is calling a “pads-eye view.”
The rocket will be carrying a Cygnus spacecraft made by Orbital ATK, with more than 7,600 pounds of scientific research, crew supplies, and other materials destined for the orbiting laboratory.
Make sure your virtual reality headset is handy; people who have them will be able to “look around and experience the view as if they were actually standing on the launch pad,” NASA said in a press release.
Hopefully we won’t witness a mysterious “live” view similar to the recent SpaceX Falcon 9 launch and ‘landing’ when the ‘live’ video feed cut off and then came back on with the rocket already landed back on the platform … Lets see what NASA has in store for us.
