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People living on the East Coast of the United States will be able to see a commercial rocket blast off into the sky Monday evening, so long as they know where to look.

The Orbital Sciences Corp has scheduled the launch of its Antares rocket for 6.45pm Eastern time October 27.

The rocket will take off from a launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in Virginia, and its flight will be visible from Massachusetts all the way to South Carolina, weather permitting.

NASA-TV will stream the launch live beginning at 5.45pm. 

Ready for liftoff: The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A at sunrise at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, October 26

The Antares will launch with the Cygnus spacecraft filled with over 5,000lbs of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions

The Orbital-3 mission is Orbital Sciences' third contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA

Preparations: The Antares rocket is rolled out of the Horizontal Integration Facility to launch Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility October 24

Another trip: The mission represents the fifth launch of the company's Antares rocket in its first 18 months of operations.

Antares will launch an unmanned Orbital-3 Cygnus spacecraft to deliver more than 5,000lbs of supplies to the International Space Station - including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions - as part of a $1.9billion deal with NASA.

The mission represents the fifth launch of the company's Antares rocket in its first 18 months of operations, according to Space.com.

It will also be the fourth cargo delivery mission to the ISS by a Cygnus module.

NASA is paying for the delivery service. The space agency hired two companies — the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences and California's SpaceX — to keep the space station well stocked once the shuttle program ended.

If all goes according to plan, the Cygnus capsule will reach the space station November 2.

Meanwhile back on Earth, space enthusiasts living along the Eastern Seaboard will have front-row seats to a spectacular sky show.

The further away you are from the launch site in Virginia, the closer to the horizon the Antares rocket will appear against the darkening evening sky.

In New York City, parts of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, the launch will be visible above the southern horizon 150 seconds after blast-off.

Those living in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC will be able to catch a glimpse of the soaring rocket at 5 degree above the southern horizon 120 seconds after the launch.

The rocket will appear in the sky as a bright orange star with a small V-shaped tail tracing a low arch from west to east.

About 180 seconds into the mission, the rocket will begin to be illuminated by the sun, which could make it appear even brighter.

This map shows the maximum elevation that Orbital's Antares rocket will reach during its first-stage engine burn. This elevation in the evening sky depends heavily on where you are observing from

Don't blink: Antares rocket observers should look due south to see the night launch from New York City and northern New Jersey. This map shows how the rocket will appear to soar over the New York City skyline as seen from River Road in North Bergen, New Jersey. The rocket will be visible about 140 seconds after liftoff

Skywatchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, should look east-southeast to see the Antares launch. This sky map shows the path of the rocket across the sky as seen from Klockner Stadium at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville

This visibility guide for the Antares rocket launch shows where to look in the south-southeast sky from South Clinton Street in Baltimore, Maryland. The rocket should become visible about 99 seconds after liftof

Observers should look north from the boardwalk of Virginia Beach

This image shows where the Antares rocket will be visible in the southeast sky from Frederick, Maryland for observers at Baker Park. The rocket should first become visible about 114 seconds after blast-off 

This map shows where and when to look from Baltimore's Fells Point Water Taxi Terminal. the rocket should first become visible about 99 seconds after liftoff

This view shows where and when to see the rocket from the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Washington DC. Observers should look toward the Jefferson Memorial to see the rocket when it becomes visible about 96 seconds after launch

The two-stage Antares rocket uses a liquid-fueled first stage powered by two engines and a solid motor ATK CASTOR 30XL upper stage to boost Cygnus into orbit.

The powered launch sequence will last about nine and a half minutes from liftoff through the separation of Cygnus module from the rocket.

Antares will ditch its first stage once it has burnt all its fuel, just under 240 seconds after launch, followed by a 47-second coasting phase.

The ignition of the second stage will begin 4 minutes 41 seconds after takeoff, and it will burn for 166 seconds before the Cygnus capsule separates from the second stage.

The unmanned spacecraft will then use its own engines to continue on to the ISS, which also will be visible tonight for several minute just before 7pm as its orbit passes over the East Coast. Click here to find the station's position.

Burst of light: The rocket will appear in the sky as a bright orange star with a small V-shaped tail tracing a low arch from west to east

Antares will ditch its first stage once it has burnt all its fuel, just under 240 seconds after launch

Two weeks after its prospective December 3 departure from the ISS, the Cygnus capsule will disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere 

Cygnus will remain attached to the space station for about a month. Two weeks after its prospective December 3 departure from the ISS, the capsule will disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere.

Under a $1.9billion contract with NASA, Orbital Sciences will use Antares and Cygnus to deliver up to 44,000lbs of cargo to the ISS over eight missions, including the mission currently under way, through late 2016.