HASTE Leidos-3 — launch date, time, visibility & where to look

Electron is scheduled to launch from Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA, operated by Rocket Lab.

Electron on the pad
Rocket
Electron
Provider
Rocket Lab
Launch site
Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA
Status
To Be Determined

Countdown to liftoff

Targeting December 2026 — the exact date and time are not set yet. Launch dates firm up close to the attempt; set a free alert below to get the final time.

Launch time

This launch time is not yet confirmed. Rocket launches often slip by hours or days for weather, technical checks, or range scheduling; treat the time above as a target and re-check close to the date.

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Sky outlook at the pad

Daily cloud cover and rain chance at Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA (liftoff is still beyond the 7-day forecast window):

  • Today 22% cloud 7% rain
  • Fri 60% cloud 46% rain
  • Sat 80% cloud 23% rain
  • Sun 58% cloud 11% rain
  • Mon 39% cloud 3% rain
  • Tue 74% cloud 1% rain
  • Wed 67% cloud 4% rain

Forecast at the launch site; check your own sky too: cloud over you can hide a launch the pad forecast says is clear.

Pro members get the 7-day outlook for their own saved locations + a weather go/no-go call. Pro · $19.99/yr

Visibility map: how far away can you see it?

Each ring shows how far away Electron is line-of-sight visible that many seconds into flight: about 89 miles by T+30s, 192 miles by T+60s, and roughly 305 miles by T+90s. City dots are colored by the expected view quality; the table below has the direction to look from each.

N ↑ T+90s T+75s T+60s T+45s T+30s T+15s Virginia Beach, VA — 73 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Virginia Beach Ocean City, MD — 41 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Ocean City Salisbury, MD — 37 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Salisbury Norfolk, VA — 81 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Norfolk Rehoboth Beach, DE — 65 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Rehoboth Beach Dover, DE — 92 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Dover Annapolis, MD — 96 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Annapolis Baltimore, MD — 117 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Baltimore Washington, DC — 112 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Washington Richmond, VA — 109 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Richmond Cape May, NJ — 83 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Cape May Ocean City, NJ — 112 mi from the pad · excellent view expected Ocean City Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C)
HASTE | Leidos-3 visibility range: each ring marks how far away the rocket is above the horizon that many seconds after liftoff, out to about 305 miles at T+90s. Rings are line-of-sight geometry from a representative ascent profile, centered on the pad — the rocket also travels downrange, stretching views along its track, and night launches are often visible well beyond the outer ring. Assumes clear skies and an open horizon.

Which cities can see this launch?

Estimated visibility from major towns near US launch sites, assuming clear skies and an open horizon. The 10 most likely first:

CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
Wallops Island, VA Excellent west-southwest 6 mi
Chincoteague, VA Excellent southwest 9 mi
Onancock, VA Excellent east-northeast 17 mi
Pocomoke City, MD Excellent south-southeast 17 mi
Exmore, VA Excellent northeast 28 mi
Berlin, MD Excellent south-southwest 37 mi
Salisbury, MD Excellent south 37 mi
Ocean City, MD Excellent south-southwest 41 mi
Cape Charles, VA Excellent northeast 49 mi
Rehoboth Beach, DE Excellent south-southwest 65 mi
Show all 94 cities
CityVisibilityLook towardDistance to pad
Virginia Beach, VA Excellent north-northeast 73 mi
Newport News, VA Excellent northeast 74 mi
Norfolk, VA Excellent north-northeast 81 mi
Cape May, NJ Excellent south-southwest 83 mi
Dover, DE Excellent south 92 mi
Annapolis, MD Excellent southeast 96 mi
Richmond, VA Excellent east-northeast 109 mi
Ocean City, NJ Excellent south-southwest 112 mi
Washington, DC Excellent southeast 112 mi
Baltimore, MD Excellent south-southeast 117 mi
Philadelphia, PA Excellent south 147 mi
Myrtle Beach, SC Marginal north-northeast 344 mi
Charleston, SC Marginal northeast 430 mi
Hilton Head Island, SC Not visible — 489 mi
Savannah, GA Not visible — 508 mi
Brunswick, GA Not visible — 574 mi
Jacksonville, FL Not visible — 627 mi
St. Augustine, FL Not visible — 642 mi
Valdosta, GA Not visible — 657 mi
Palm Coast, FL Not visible — 658 mi
Daytona Beach, FL Not visible — 675 mi
New Smyrna Beach, FL Not visible — 684 mi
Gainesville, FL Not visible — 688 mi
Mims, FL Not visible — 705 mi
Titusville, FL Not visible — 707 mi
Sanford, FL Not visible — 707 mi
Port Canaveral, FL Not visible — 715 mi
Tallahassee, FL Not visible — 716 mi
Merritt Island, FL Not visible — 720 mi
Cocoa Beach, FL Not visible — 721 mi
Rockledge, FL Not visible — 722 mi
Orlando, FL Not visible — 726 mi
Satellite Beach, FL Not visible — 729 mi
Indialantic, FL Not visible — 734 mi
Melbourne, FL Not visible — 736 mi
Palm Bay, FL Not visible — 739 mi
Kissimmee, FL Not visible — 743 mi
Sebastian, FL Not visible — 750 mi
Vero Beach, FL Not visible — 760 mi
Fort Pierce, FL Not visible — 770 mi
Lakeland, FL Not visible — 773 mi
Port St. Lucie, FL Not visible — 783 mi
Tampa, FL Not visible — 793 mi
West Palm Beach, FL Not visible — 813 mi
Pensacola Beach, FL Not visible — 843 mi
Fort Lauderdale, FL Not visible — 854 mi
Gulf Shores, AL Not visible — 872 mi
Miami, FL Not visible — 878 mi
Grand Isle, LA Not visible — 1023 mi
Rockport, TX Not visible — 1417 mi
Port Aransas, TX Not visible — 1425 mi
Corpus Christi, TX Not visible — 1444 mi
South Padre Island, TX Not visible — 1502 mi
Port Isabel, TX Not visible — 1505 mi
Laguna Vista, TX Not visible — 1507 mi
Bayview, TX Not visible — 1512 mi
Los Fresnos, TX Not visible — 1518 mi
Harlingen, TX Not visible — 1524 mi
Brownsville, TX Not visible — 1526 mi
McAllen, TX Not visible — 1550 mi
Laredo, TX Not visible — 1562 mi
San Diego, CA Not visible — 2357 mi
Mojave, CA Not visible — 2360 mi
Pasadena, CA Not visible — 2377 mi
Los Angeles, CA Not visible — 2385 mi
Long Beach, CA Not visible — 2389 mi
Bakersfield, CA Not visible — 2399 mi
Malibu, CA Not visible — 2410 mi
Fresno, CA Not visible — 2412 mi
Thousand Oaks, CA Not visible — 2415 mi
Oxnard, CA Not visible — 2432 mi
Ventura, CA Not visible — 2437 mi
Santa Barbara, CA Not visible — 2456 mi
Solvang, CA Not visible — 2475 mi
Buellton, CA Not visible — 2478 mi
Los Alamos, CA Not visible — 2479 mi
Santa Maria, CA Not visible — 2484 mi
Orcutt, CA Not visible — 2486 mi
San Luis Obispo, CA Not visible — 2489 mi
Guadalupe, CA Not visible — 2491 mi
Pismo Beach, CA Not visible — 2491 mi
Vandenberg Village, CA Not visible — 2491 mi
Lompoc, CA Not visible — 2492 mi
San Jose, CA Not visible — 2514 mi

Where to look

A rocket lifts off below the horizon for distant viewers, then climbs into view as it gains altitude and flies downrange. Closer to the pad you'll see it within seconds; a few hundred miles away it can take three to six minutes to rise over the horizon. Find an open view in the direction shown for your city and start watching at liftoff.

10° 75° T+10s T+5m 10s W NW N NE
From Wallops Island, VA: rises T+10s in the WSW, peaks 75°.
10° 79° T+10s T+5m 10s E SE S
From Chincoteague, VA: rises T+10s in the SW, peaks 79°.
10° 30° T+10s T+5m 10s NE
From Onancock, VA: rises T+10s in the ENE, peaks 30°.

Official launch details More from Rocket Lab ↗

Before you go

HASTE Leidos-3 launch FAQ

When is the HASTE Leidos-3 launch date and time?

HASTE Leidos-3 is currently targeting December 2026 — the exact date and time have not been announced yet. Status: To Be Determined. Launch dates slip often; the countdown on this page tracks the latest target, or set a free alert to get the final time.

Where does HASTE Leidos-3 launch from?

From Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA, operated by Rocket Lab. If you are within a few hundred miles, the city-by-city table on this page shows the expected view from your area and which direction to look.

How far away can you see the HASTE Leidos-3 launch?

Roughly 305 miles with clear skies: within about 89 miles of the pad the rocket clears the horizon in the first half-minute, and by T+90 seconds it is high enough to be line-of-sight visible around 305 miles away. Night launches can be visible even farther as the exhaust plume catches sunlight. The visibility map on this page shows the range rings and which cities fall inside them.

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Launch data from TheSpaceDevs Launch Library 2. Page generated September 4, 2026.