Anyone else watching the SpaceX launch live?

[JacobReesMogadishu]

It’s being broadcast on the nasa YouTube channel and website.?

Just under 2 hours to launch, they’re just shutting the hatch now.

Aww, they must be so disappointed!

see you againon saturday

See you all on Sat!

They need to be by the ocean don’t they for launch? Dh has been to Kennedy space station. Said it was really interesting.

I went to the kennedy space station from where they are launching too.

Yes being by the ocean is ideal incase they need to bring it down and water is safest way

've always wondered why they decided to launch spacecraft from Florida which has the most unpredictable weather ever, rather than say the desert in Arizona

So it falls in the sea if it goes tits up

I take it we won’t be able to see it on Saturday as it’s an hour earlier.

We watched all evening

at the moment weather app says clear skies for saturday night!

Awww
Happened to us once
Drove all the way out to the space centre only for it to be aborted.
The one we did see was awesome though.

I seem to remember finishing up at Paul’s smoke house
Wonder if it’s still there.

The skies are clear on Sat but 8.30 will be quite bright. I guess we won’t be able to see it fly over then?

Well that was a let down

We're watching with DD, who is an engineering student ... apparently this part, offloading the propellant or whatever they're doing is really interesting anyway.

Her BF is seriously into rocketry and aerospace stuff so I'm sure we'll be watching again on Saturday.

I know they're well prepared but this must be terribly emotionally draining for the astronauts.

Yep ..without getting too geeky:

1. it's most efficient to launch towards the east because launching that way the Earths spin is contributing towards the velocity needed to achieve orbit.

1. You want to launch from a latitude near the equator because that is where the earth is spinning towards the East most rapidly.

1. As bluefoxmug says you need a clear area in the direction of launch...

so with that in mind take a map of the States, look for somewhere in the Southern part of States with a clear area for hundreds if not thousands of miles to the east of it and you find......

Sorry that was a very late reply to Greygardens question about why Florida?

My boys were disappointed but at least they saw the ISS in clear twilight sky tonight, no stars out to confuse them, so that's a bonus. Can't wait for Saturday.

I assume the astronauts will be being kept in isolation so can’t even go home? They do this normally never mind in coronavirus times.

They won't have been home for weeks I imagine.

Yes,normal quarantine. Bob and Doug's wives are both astronauts too so I guess they're all used to it.

They won't have been home for weeks I imagine.

According to the press they had the standard two'ish week pre-flight "quarantine.."

www.space.com/spacex-crew-dragon-astronauts-demo-2-quarantine.html

There's never been a several months long pre-flight quarantine, though the astronauts have often left family at home (Houston) to move to the Cape several weeks before launch anyway due to the work they need to do at the Cape.

I assume the astronauts will be being kept in isolation so can’t even go home? They do this normally never mind in coronavirus times.

They do, remember when one (mattingly?) got measles and lost his seat on the flight.

Fingers crossed for Saturday. Great view of the ISS last night though. It feels like an old friend these days. The world is going mad but the space station quietly appears from the west and sails over my house right on schedule, no drama. I love it.

I wonder how much the scrubbed launch cost - can’t find a figure though.

Oh! Thought this had posted, but obv.not. Apols if my previous randomly appears. I was watching the live feed and will be watching again on Sat. My niece's class were visited by Buzz Aldrin years ago and they were all allowed,carefully, to hold a piece of moon rock. How bloody cool is that???

I've never seen the space station , might be because I've no sense of direction and I need someone to shout "it's behind you!" in best pantomime mode?