This evening we should see the SpaceX launch of four astronauts heading to the ISS in the Dragon capsule. They’ll be on the space station for six months before returning.
There were minor glitches, but ignition should still take place exactly an hour from this posting: at 7:27 eastern U.S. time, or 6:27 Chicago time. As the WaPo reports:
A successful launch will mark another step in NASA’s plans to turn spaceflight duties over to private enterprise. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule is the first privately owned and operated spacecraft to be certified by NASA for human spaceflight, a certification SpaceX received only days ago.
The launch would also mark a coming-of-age moment for SpaceX, the California company founded by Elon Musk that was once viewed as a maverick start-up but is now one of the space industry’s stalwarts and one of NASA’s most significant partners, delivering both cargo and now astronauts to the space station.
If all goes according to plan, the four astronauts aboard the capsule should reach the space station at about 11 p.m. Monday.
You can watch the launch at the NASA live feed below:
I recommend that you view the launch on the Everyday Astronaut YouTube channel. Tim Dodd is the host and he adds a lot of intelligent and entertaining commentary.
https://youtu.be/IQCWqlHAaL8
I like watching the SpaceX feed just because I like hearing them.
When they launched the Falcon Heavy in February 2018, I had tears in my eyes when the dummy payload was revealed and Bowie’s Life on Mars began playing. My generation has never seen anything like it. Previous generations had the moon landing, Apollo missions, etc. It felt like the world was finally getting interested in science again. Finally interested in doing great things. Important things. Wondrous things.
Tim Dodd also injects the feeds into his presentation. He mostly lets the feed do the talking and only adds his own stuff during the inevitable pauses. I guess he does sometimes do it during the “boring bits” also but he does a good job, IMHO. His videos of how the technology works are also good. He has competition though. It’s an entire YouTube industry.
That’s my preference too, they are on top of and have insight into the events. And you don’t have to hear the breathless commentary from outside watchers [you just do it in your own head 👹].
It’s also great to see my country, the USA, do something great again, something for all of humanity, something that isn’t political or partisan. It’s all in the name of science and humanity. And it’s something so wonderful.
I’m obviously very passionate about this 😀
Yes, it is good that Biden supports the space effort too. On the other hand, the guy that runs NASA, Jim Bridenstine, has already announced he’s stepping down. Although Trump gave him the job, he’s generally regarded as having done an excellent job. I would be interested to know the real reason why he’s leaving. His silence makes it sound like he’s a real Trumper and would never work for a Dem administration on principle but I hope that’s not the case.
When I read these comments earlier, Your comment gave me a bit of hope.
However, looking into it a bit, I did not find as much reason for hope.
Space News addressed the issue, and this quote stands out-
“Managing the Earth’s ability to sustain human life and biodiversity will likely, in my view, dominate a civil space agenda for a Biden-Harris administration,” said Lori Garver, a former NASA deputy administrator”
Biden has also selected a diversity hiring specialist to serve on his NASA transition team.
I hope the trend towards commercial space programs will continue to help us push boundaries, even if the administration shifts NASA priorities towards weather satellites and bias training.
Or, he could push for an accelerated mars program. I would find that a pleasant surprise indeed.
Yes, it is good that Biden supports the space effort too. On the other hand, the guy that runs NASA, Jim Bridenstine, has already announced he’s stepping down. Although Trump gave him the job, he’s generally regarded as having done an excellent job. I would be interested to know the real reason why he’s leaving. His silence makes it sound like he’s a real Trumper and would never work for a Dem administration on principle but I hope that’s not the case.
Heh, you posted this as I was writing my third comment under yours (again, I apologize for my excitement). Yes, I really hope Biden finds someone who will continue to push NASA in the right direction
that direction being SPACE!
Me too. I follow it fairly closely. It’s definitely not just about NASA any more. Lot’s of companies involved and an entire industry of followers and contributors. Government really has no choice but to fund NASA as it supports a growing and successful industry. There will always be those that claim we shouldn’t waste our money on space while there are still problems on earth but I’ve never found that to be a sensible argument.
One last remark (sorry! I know I’m posting too much, but I’m just really excited!).
One of the very few things I will give Trump credit for is pushing NASA to go back to the moon and similar stuff. NASA has been stagnant for so long now. NASA should be one of our best-funded departments and considered one of the most important parts of our country. Space is the future. And NASA does more than just launching stuff into space anyway. It’s about damn time that NASA returned to its former glory.
I really hope Biden will continue pushing NASA to become what it used to be, back in the glory days. I hope we see a space station on Mars in my lifetime.
“One of the very few things I will give Trump credit for is pushing NASA to go back to the moon and similar stuff.”
It helps when Congress deigns to increase NASA funding. No doubt, a portion of Trump’s $750 income tax payment went to NASA.
And thanks to U.S. taxpayers for their financial support since the dawn of the Space Age. I look forward to the day when SpaceX, et al, are self-supporting and no longer require taxpayer assistance.
SpaceX may already be self-supporting. If not now, then soon. I guess it depends on how you calculate it. The moon landing was definitely taxpayer supported but how do you distribute the cost of paying SpaceX to put a military satellite in orbit? Sure, the taxpayers are footing the bill eventually but it seems its more a matter of defense spending rather than funding of a space program. SpaceX also expects to make lots of money from its Starlink system of satellites providing high-speed internet to areas of the globe where they don’t currently have it. Starlink is now in beta test and shortly to be fully operational. Assuming their next-generation Starship comes online in a couple of years, it will make delivering payloads to space so cheap that SpaceX may put some of its competitors out of business.
Now you tell me. I watched the launch on CNN and Wolf Blitzer cluelessly missed that the first stage had landed while CNN was showing the live video feed of it landing. A reporter had to break in and mention it to Wolf. And he did not mention the first stage landing rocket being fired as it was shown live on CNN. Just cluelessly kept talking to guests. Major disappointment.
Wolf Blitzer is…not a smart man. He finished with -$4600 on Jeopardy. Celebrity Jeopardy (which is easier than normal Jeopardy). Got his ass absolutely whupped by Andy Richter. Couldn’t even get the political questions right.
Yeah, I have never understand how Blitzer stays employed. I can’t stand it when he gives that serious look, and then starts talking. Have to change the channel.
Yes, MSM coverage of all the constant spaceflight activity is pretty pathetic. There is so much stuff out there now. Here are a few more I follow: Nextspaceflight.com, and YouTube channels: NASASpaceflight, LabPadre (doings at SpaceX’s Starship facility at Boca Chica, TX), Marcus House, What about it?, SpaceX (their official channel), spacexcentric.
Beautiful and very complicated successful launch!
I mist the live liftoff, but the replay looked so normal. I guess that’s the idea isn’t it. Spaceflight is now commercial, private, and routine.
I watched it late here in London (Nasa feed and BBC)just as I did the the Apollo missions. So exciting. A tremendous accomplishment. To the Moon and beyond. Go America!
WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO
Watching the launch was a real treat. I continue to be amazed at how the first stage lands itself.
I am still not used to the aesthetic of the new suits/helmets and the touchscreen interior.
My machinist mentor made a great many of the toggle switches used on the Apollo spacecraft. He still has a few in one of his toolboxes. They are wonderfully tactile.
It was very nice. My favourite part is watching the first stage rocket land itself on the drone ship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’.
I love those booster landings too. What was even cooler is when they launch Falcon Heavy. It’s basically three Falcon first stages strapped together. The outside two land simultaneously back at Cape Canaveral and the middle one lands on a drone ship. I think they’ve only flown it once. The two boosters did land successfully back at the Cape which was spectacular. The center one ran out of fuel just before making it to the drone ship.
Their next generation Starship will be even more spectacular. Not only is it much, much larger, both first and upper stages land back at the launch pad.
Believe it or not (time flies) Falcon Heavy has had 3 launches. The first was the test flight that carried Starman in Elon’s Tesla, and since then there have been 2 commercial flights.
2nd flight, April 11, 2019, FH launched a large communications Satellite for the Arab League.
3rd flight, June 25, 2019, FH launched a bunch of stuff. I’m not entirely clear on how many different individual satellites or missions. The primary customer was the DoD and the payload was called USAF STP-2. It was apparently comprised of at least 6 satellites. Additionally there were at least 7 other payloads, some of which were also multiple satellites.
On the 1st and 3rd flight the center booster crashed while attempting to land on the barge. On the 2nd flight the center booster successfully landed only to later fall over during transport due to heavy seas. Both side boosters successfully landed on all three launches.
Currently there are 8 future FH missions in various stages of scheduling, ranging from “Scheduled” to “Planned” to “TBA.”
If I were one of those astronauts, I’d be like “I’m glad I’m off that planet for the next six months.”
I watched a lot of it, but it bugged the hell out of me when one of the commentators (wearing a NASA logo, I believe) kept using the word ‘nominally’ when she plainly meant ‘normally’.
Tim Dodd of Everyday Astronaut fame says “norminal” as a joke. He has tee-shirts and mugs with the word on it. I suspect that the subtle difference in meaning AND pronunciation between the two words causes many to make inadvertent mistakes.