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The SpaceX launch isn’t happening today, with weather delaying liftoff live stream to Saturday, May 30 at 3:22pm EDT. We’ll be carrying the SpaceX live stream here.
Wednesday’s SpaceX launch was officially scrubbed 17 minutes inside the launch window, with NASA hanging on until the last few minutes in an effort to save today’s efforts. The weather had other plans.
NASA has strict weather rules for clearing spacecraft launches and noted that three weather violations were found, including ‘natural lightning’. If they would have been able to wait ten minutes beyond the countdown, they could have cleared those violations, according to SpaceX and NASA officials.
The interesting thing is that this was what is known as an ‘instantaneous launch’, meaning due orbital mechanics, a delay wasn’t possible if the crew wanted to get to the International Space Station (ISS) on time and lock in accurately.
The good news is that everything technical with the craft and crew was a go for liftoff for Wednesday, so as long as this weekend’s weather cooperates, the mission will happen on Saturday. Weather was the only concern, according to NASA.
It’s the birth of commercially-backed human space travel.
This delayed week’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission remains historic, as it’s happening at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It’s the first such launch on American soil in nearly a decade – since NASA retired the Space Shuttle in 2011. It’s also the first time that a SpaceX reusable spacecraft will be sending NASA astronauts into space. It’s the birth of commercially-backed human space travel.
The destination of this SpaceX launch is The International Space Station (ISS) for a one- to four-month duration for NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, according to our friends over at Space.com.
You, of course, may have more questions. What time is the SpaceX live streaming starting in your region of the world on Saturday now that it’s been cancelled for today? What happened that you missed (and will likely happen again on Saturday)? And who are the lucky astronauts? We have all of that information below.
Here’s how to watch what’s left of the SpaceX launch live stream:
Standing down from launch today due to unfavorable weather in the flight path. Our next launch opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTCMay 27, 2020
SpaceX launch weather concerns delay liftoff
Even with all of the exceptional planning ahead of this SpaceX launch, NASA and Elon Musk can’t control the weather (not yet anyway). Florida, while normally sunny, does have frequent quick rain showers, and that seems to be what the crew faced here.
The SpaceX launch live stream had constant chatter from operators discussing rain conditions. They waited until a few minutes before the countdown expired to scrub the mission, hoping to pull it off. Saturday, May 30 will be the next launch date for the SpaceX launch.
Another weather variable is the fact that the weather conditions need to be good everywhere this spacecraft might be. For example, if the crew had to abort anywhere along its ascent and come down, recovery crews would need to access the capsule, so it’s more than just the immediate Florida launchpad that needs ideal weather.
(Image credit: NASA)SpaceX launch time set for Saturday
The official Demo-2 SpaceX launch time is set for Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 EDT, so the times across the continental US will be 2:22pm CDT / 1:22pm MDT / 12:22pm PDT. You may want to show up a couple of minutes ahead of time to take in the rocket while it’s grounded and steam is coming off of it.
The UK SpaceX launch time will be 20:22 BST. In addition to tuning into the video live stream, you should go outside and see if you can catch a glimpse of the SpaceX-built spacecraft in the sky at around 20:40 BST – if that remains true on Saturday (that was the case for the Wednesday launch at least).
Lots of people are asking about timings for tonight’s spacecraft sightings. For the UK:@Space_Station, 21:20 (look west, right of the moon)@SpaceX launch, 21:33 (watch here: https://t.co/Exgd0lIhx9), then about 21:50, it will be following the same path as the ISS over the UK. pic.twitter.com/ahx6Eph2QvMay 27, 2020
In Australia, it’ll already be Sunday, with the launch time occurring at 5:22am ACT.
(Image credit: NASA)How to watch the SpaceX launch on Saturday
The official NASA and SpaceX YouTube accounts will be offering a live stream of the preparations, which they noted will feel like deja vu if you had already tuned in for the Wednesday launch.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to tune into both – they’re offering the same content across both live streams
During the Wednesday launch, we saw SpaceX founder Elon Musk visit suited-up astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken and exchange a few words before liftoff time. Musk then went to greet US Vice President Mike Pence, who is there to watch the launch. President Donald Trump joined soon after, while Hurley and Behnken traveled to the launch site in a Tesla Model X (Tesla being another company Musk founded).
The moment @SpaceX founder @elonmusk gives NASA’s @AstroBehnken & @Astro_Doug the keys to the Dragon 2. #SpaceLaunchLIVE #SpaceXDragon pic.twitter.com/nHb1uCVR9uMay 27, 2020
NASA continued to monitor the weather via data sensors around the launch site in an effort to get everything into ‘the green position’ on their maps. At the time, NASA said, “the weather is trending in the right direction,” but as the countdown got to T-minus 17 minutes, favorability went the other direction.
This meant that the crew was seated in the capsule after crossing the crew access arm, and the crew arm had already retracted. Steam started to come off of the rocket before the launch was called off. It was that close to liftoff.
Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon will lift off from Launch Complex 39A – the same place Saturn V launched humanity to the Moon and from where the first and final Space Shuttle missions lifted off pic.twitter.com/wOSsbCRqi7May 25, 2020
SpaceX spacecraft, SpaceX suits and NASA astronauts
On Saturday, Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will be back inside the Dragon capsule, which sits atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It’s situated on a launch pad at legendary Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida’s Cape Canaveral. LC-39A was originally built for the Apollo missions and remodeled for the Space Shuttle program.
Hurley (the spacecraft commander) and Behnken (the joint operations commander) are NASA astronauts, engineers and both former members of US military (Hurley is a former marine, while Behnken was in the US Air Force).
The two-man NASA crew is not only flying in a SpaceX-built craft, but also outfitted in SpaceX pressurized suits, first shown off in 2017.
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