Streak of fire to likely appear in morning sky off mid-Atlantic on Tuesday. Why?

A streak of fire will appear in the morning sky over multiple East Coast states as a rocket loaded with experiments launches from Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia, NASA says.

Weather permitting, the RockSatX mission will launch between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 12, NASA reports.

The resulting light show will be seen along the East Coast from New Jersey to North Carolina, and as far west as West Virginia, NASA says.

Coastal residents will see the rocket thrusters fire within seconds, while people leaving outside the immediate area will see it 30 to 40 seconds after launch, officials said.

The rocket is not intended to go into orbit.

“The Terrier-Improved Malemute rocket is expected to reach an altitude of about 100 miles (162 kilometers) before descending by parachute into the Atlantic Ocean to be recovered,” NASA says. “Sounding rockets are small, low-cost flight opportunities to suborbital space.”

Aboard the rocket are several experiments developed by university students, including: a deployable heat shield that generates electricity; a Langmuir probe to measure how plasma responds to different electrical conditions; and a robotic arm designed to track and capture objects in space, NASA says.

“The RockSat program provides NASA-unique technical training and authentic, hands-on experiences, that prepare and equip students to enter the United States’ aerospace industry,” according to a statement released by Victoria Stoffel of the Wallops STEM team.