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Space X Launch - Who’s Watching

MWard said:
They still used the famous 39A launch pad. I'm thinking it had more to do with the angle they launched at in order to catch up with ISS or something. It was definitely a good foot higher visibility wise before I could pick it up at my house. Usually you can just see the exhaust and the plume, something to catch your eye to it. Today felt like it was just like an airplane's trail until you noticed how fast it was going!
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I think you are correct the angle was definitely different and once we saw it above the trees it seemed to veer to the southwest and went right over my house. We could see it for quite a while from the treetops to down range and it sure seemed a lot faster than the shuttle launches. I was working on my boat in the boatyard in Ft. Pierce when the Challenger launch went bad, that was such a awful tragedy.
 
jim54 said:
Maybe they used a different pad? No idea really, but all the shuttles came up over the house across the street, this one was far more to the east / northeast. By the time we can see it, it is getting pretty high and starting to turn or at least it appears to be turning to the eye.
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As Wardy said, pad 39A is somewhat of the primary pad at KSC since the Apollo days, and that's what they're using now. Pad 39B has been modified for the Artemis program launches. BTW, pad 37B (at Cape Canaveral AFS) will be where the Boeing Starliners will launch from.

The launch angle has more to do with the orbital plane / path of the ISS than anything. Even though they weren't going to get right up to the altitude of the ISS yesterday, they still needed to be launching at an angle that will allow them to meet up with it today.

It was such an amazing thing to watch. I was very fun to watch it with my 10 year old, since this was obviously her first launch to see live. I've got her where she tries to guess what airline's plane is flying overhead, so it's nice to see her enjoying spaceflight, as I did as a kid.
 
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Watched live from the tee box on #11 yesterday! Had two holes open behind us so with the wait!
 
Jmk202 said:
Watched live from the tee box on #11 yesterday! Had two holes open behind us so with the wait!
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That’s pretty freaking cool
 
Since today is ISS docking day.....who can handle the pressure????

Dock with ISS Sim
 
Watched the replay last night. Just really cool stuff. Great that a private company is doing this too. The fact they can land their engine back down on a boat astounds me.
 
Have to admit, even though I think Elon Musk is a top notch wanker, you can’t dispute the guy is a complete visionary. I posted earlier just how cool the interior of the dragon capsule looked. It is plainly obvious, that was put together with style as well as function in mind. Compare it with the Boeing StarLiner, which still has racks and racks of buttons and switches. And again, those space suits. They were like something out of a science fiction movie. They looked pretty darn cool! Again, it was obvious that they weren’t just designed to just work, they were designed to look cool and futuristic as well. Again, compare them with the Boeing suits that were designed only with function in mind. Where Steve Jobs left off, Elon Musk has without doubt, taken over!!!
 
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I’ll have to watch the replay of docking later today...
 
Mark_UK said:
Have to admit, even though I think Elon Musk is a top notch wanker, you can’t dispute the guy is a complete visionary. I posted earlier just how cool the interior of the dragon capsule looked. It is plainly obvious, that was put together with style as well as function in mind. Compare it with the Boeing StarLiner, which still has racks and racks of buttons and switches. And again, those space suits. They were like something out of a science fiction movie. They looked pretty darn cool! Again, it was obvious that they weren’t just designed to work, they were designed to look cool and futuristic. Again, compare them with the Boeing suits that were designed only with function in mind. Where Steve Jobs left off, Elon Musk has without doubt, taken over!!!
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Well said. I may not agree with everything Mr. Spaceboy does, but his visions and expectations for the future in space are incredible. If human life ever gets to Mars, I believe Elon will have something to do with it. It also helps when you have millions of dollars to burn - no pun intended.
 
Like a scene out of film!!! Hard to believe they are strapped onto a rocket hurtling into space!2AD52122-3A55-4BCD-96A1-07EAED74D928.jpeg
 
So obviously a great adventure to be on. Is the mission get to space and dock with space station and return or are people staying up there?

Just curious what are some of the goals for this mission. Does it mean more to happen on a more frequent basis?
 
Gman79 said:
So obviously a great adventure to be on. Is the mission get to space and dock with space station and return or are people staying up there?

Just curious what are some of the goals for this mission. Does it mean more to happen on a more frequent basis?
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This Demo-2 mission is for SpaceX to obtain validation they can successfully launch a manned spacecraft into orbit and docking at the ISS. It's basically to prove the SpaceX Crew Dragon is capable of launching humans into space safely. This certification will allow them to launch humans into space for the foreseeable future. Notably, this was a huge step towards their mission to launch private civilians (tourists) into space starting 2021 (maybe someone can fact check that) and the Moon in 2024.

edit: Meant to say "the Moon in 2024" not Mars.
 
Midman03 said:
This Demo-2 mission is for SpaceX to obtain validation they can successfully launch a manned spacecraft into orbit and docking at the ISS. It's basically to prove the SpaceX Crew Dragon is capable of launching humans into space safely. This certification will allow them to launch humans into space for the foreseeable future. Notably, this was a huge step towards their mission to launch private civilians (tourists) into space starting 2021 (maybe someone can fact check that) and Mars in 2024.
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Ok makes sense and aligns with my thinking
 
Midman03 said:
This Demo-2 mission is for SpaceX to obtain validation they can successfully launch a manned spacecraft into orbit and docking at the ISS. It's basically to prove the SpaceX Crew Dragon is capable of launching humans into space safely. This certification will allow them to launch humans into space for the foreseeable future. Notably, this was a huge step towards their mission to launch private civilians (tourists) into space starting 2021 (maybe someone can fact check that) and the Moon in 2024.
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Cant imagine the cost for a trip to space. Totally worth it, but alas I know it will never be in my price range. 😞
 
fuffle master said:
Cant imagine the cost for a trip to space. Totally worth it, but alas I know it will never be in my price range. 😞
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From what I've been reading, SpaceX has not disclosed the cost of the trip. On February 18, 2020, SpaceX did reach an agreement with Space Adventures to launch private civilians to space. I've read the cost can be anywhere from $50-$58 million per seat. So, much more than I will ever have!
 
Midman03 said:
From what I've been reading, SpaceX has not disclosed the cost of the trip. On February 18, 2020, SpaceX did reach an agreement with Space Adventures to launch private civilians to space. I've read the cost can be anywhere from $50-$58 million per seat. So, much more than I will ever have!
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I am just a few zeros off from booking. Lol
 
Gman79 said:
So obviously a great adventure to be on. Is the mission get to space and dock with space station and return or are people staying up there?

Just curious what are some of the goals for this mission. Does it mean more to happen on a more frequent basis?
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Their return-to-Earth date is TBD. Testing will continue to confirm everything they planned works.
 
holy crap that was awesome. the belly flop and flip with the starship is something to watch. "landed" this time.
 
It went boom, but it did land. Not sure if during its landing, the fire you can see towards the bottom right caused some issues or if it crushed itself a bit when it landed and it was enough to cause some gas leaking that lead to it.

The fact it landed though.. That is huge.
 
Didn’t watch it live, but saw a social media video where I couldn’t help laughing.......not at the rocket exploding, but at the guys doing the filming. I love the way everything space x do looks like it’s right out of a sci fi movie. That rocket looked as cool as ****. It even exploded in a cool way LOL.
 
Mark_UK said:
Didn’t watch it live, but saw a social media video where I couldn’t help laughing.......not at the rocket exploding, but at the guys doing the filming. I love the way everything space x do looks like it’s right out of a sci fi movie. That rocket looked as cool as ****. It even exploded in a cool way LOL.
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The view from the pad as it flipped, might be one of the coolest and most vivid views I’ve ever seen of a launch/landing (still nuts to me that we can land rockets). It looked like CGI.
 
That is almost tempting enough to drive to KSC and watch that live. Holy cow.
 
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