SpaceX launch live updates: Tourist from Charlotte says, ‘I want to see it.’
SpaceX Crew Dragon sits atop a Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A ahead of a Saturday, May 30, attempt set for 3:22 p.m. on the Demo-2 mission to send NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station, the first launch of astronauts from U.S. soil into space since the end of the space shuttle era in 2011.(NASA)
It’s launch day in America again as SpaceX and NASA once again try to battle the weather for a clear shot into the cosmos carrying astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
The teams at the space agency and Elon Musk’s rocket company are endeavoring to perform a feat that has only been achieved five times in U.S. history: Sending astronauts to space on a brand new, American vehicle.
It’s been nine years since astronauts took off from the U.S. at all, the end of the shuttle program taking America’s human spaceflight capabilities with it. But in the decade since, NASA has worked with SpaceX and Boeing to build astronaut capsules that could again send humans to the International Space Station.
SpaceX got there first, and if all goes well, it will launch Behnken and Hurley inside its Crew Dragon capsule at 3:22 p.m. EDT from Kennedy Space Center’s launch complex 39A. NASA will start covering the mission live at 11 a.m. EDT.
The weather is 50% favorable for launch.
For those watching closely, there may be some deja vu. Saturday’s attempt will be the second for this mission, which was delayed Wednesday due to persistent bad weather over the spaceport.
But NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine applauded the decision to hold for another day, saying the pressure of the milestone, as well as the presence of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, did not get in the way of the team making the safest decision.
“Under no circumstances should anybody feel pressure,” Bridenstine said. “If we are not ready to go, we simply do not go. I will tell you I am proud, so proud, of our teams working together to make the right decision in this particular case.”
Inside Crew Dragon, mission commander Doug Hurley concurred on Wednesday.
News photographers set up remote cameras as the Crew Dragon capsule sits on top of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39-A at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Friday, May 29, 2020. The second launch attempt of the Demo-2 mission is scheduled for Saturday at 3:22pm. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
“It was a good effort by the teams,” he said. “We understand and we’ll meet you there.”
On Saturday, Trump and Pence will be back to watch Hurley and Behnken go through the entire mission again. The astronauts woke up around 9 a.m. for breakfast and a weather briefing, before suiting up and saying goodbye to their families, who will be waiting outside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building.
Both Hurley and Behnken are space shuttle veterans, having flown two missions each but none together. They are close friends who came up through NASA’s 2000 astronaut corps, married fellow astronauts and have two young sons. Behnken’s wife, astronaut Megan McArthur and his 6-year-old son, Theodore, will join Hurley’s wife, astronaut Karen Nyberg, and his 10-year-old son, Jack, during their goodbyes on Saturday afternoon.
“As graduates of military test pilot schools, if you gave us one thing that we could have put on our list of dream jobs we could have had someday, it would behave been to be aboard a new spacecraft, be conducting a test mission aboard that spacecraft,” Behnken said earlier this month. “We view it as an opportunity but also a responsibility for the American people, for the SpaceX team, for all of NASA.”
Live launch day updates
11:30 a.m. — ‘Flight heritage’
11:05 a.m. — ‘I want to see it.’
Brad Fields remembers seeing a space shuttle launch as a kid.
Now, the 34-year-old hopes he and his 10-month-old daughter will witness the return of crewed space flight from the United States.
“It’s going to be history,” he said. “I’m excited for her to see it.”
Enjoying the beach Saturday morning not far from Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, Fields was in town from Charlotte with his 29-year-old wife, Kristen, and their daughter Elliana.
Their trip also included a visit earlier in the week to Disney Springs.
While the family’s Florida stay was scheduled to end Sunday, they were looking into extending it if weather delayed the launch. But Fields expressed a sentiment many are likely feeling ahead of the launch which was already postponed on Wednesday.
“I kind of hope it launches today, to be honest,” he said. “I’m getting tired of waiting. I want to see it. I want to get it over with. I want to experience it and move on.”
11 a.m. — NASA Live coverage begins
NASA will begin airing its live coverage of SpaceX’s second attempt at. 11 a.m. Watch live here.
The space agency has also released the schedule for the day for astronauts Behnken and Hurley.
The astronauts will put on their suits at about 11:22 p.m. before walking out of the historic Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at noon. There, the duo will say goodbye to their families before getting in a white Tesla Model X SUV and jetting out to Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad 39A.
At about 12:47 p.m., Behnken and Hurley will enter SpaceX’s Crew Dragon vehicle and begin a series of check-outs before the hatch closes at about 1:27 p.m.
About 45 minutes before liftoff, teams will begin fueling propellant before making a final determination as to whether weather or anything else may scrub the launch.
10 a.m. — Beachgoers begin to arrive
People were already hitting the beach hours before the scheduled SpaceX launch of American astronauts.(Austin Fuller)
Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach was starting to fill up with beachgoers Saturday morning. Parking was still available at the beachside park around 10 a.m. ahead of the SpaceX launch.
Even with rain expected this afternoon, people played in the sand and surf under mostly blue skies. Cars were also lined up alongside State Road 528 between Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island.
9:30 a.m. — Get there early, says Florida Highway Patrol
Orlando Sentinel reporters heading to the Space Coast this morning reported light traffic, but that’s not expected to last much longer.
The Florida Highway Patrol said cars were backed up on major roads just before the scheduled liftoff of the mission on Wednesday, which was scrubbed because of rain and heavy clouds. Kim Montes, an FHP spokeswoman, suggests an early arrival for anyone heading to the launch Saturday.
In Titusville near the A. Max Brewer Bridge, spectators are already lining up to get a good seat ahead of the 3:22 p.m. EDT liftoff.
7:55 a.m. — NASA moving ahead despite 50-50 weather
NASA chief Jim Bridenstine tweeted “we are moving forward” with a launch at 3:22 p.m. EDT Saturday, despite the 50-50 chance that the weather won’t cooperate. If the mission is scrubbed, the next attempt will come Sunday at 3 p.m. EDT.
On Friday, Bridenstine reiterated that safety was the top concern.
“We cannot forget this is a test flight. This — is — a — test — flight," Bridenstine said at a news conference. “We will go when everything is as safe as we can possibly make it."
We are moving forward with launch today. Weather challenges remain with a 50% chance of cancellation. #LaunchAmerica
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