YouTube download / AP video / NASA and SpaceX attempted to make history Wednesday with the countdown under way to launch two NASA astonauts into space aboard a SpaceX rocket, but the launch was scrubbed due to lightning strikes.
By SERA KING / Headline Surfer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The launch of a SpaceX rocket ship with two NASA astronauts on a history-making flight into orbit was called off with less than 17 minutes to go in the countdown Wednesday due to lightning.
The next attempt at launch is 3:22 p.m. Saturday. And if that launch ends up getting scrubbed, then a third attempt would be made 3 p.m. Sunday.
Wednesday's scrubbing cames after President Donald Trump traveled to Central Florida and landed at Kennedy Space Center.
The history-making flight into orbit was called off with 17 minutes to go in the countdown because of the danger of lightning.
The spacecraft was set to blast off Wednesday afternoon for the International Space Station, ushering in a new era in commercial spaceflight and putting NASA back in the business of launching astronauts from the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade, according to a NASA media release.
NASA has had to rely on Russian rockets to carry astronauts to and from the space station since the space shuttle program was retired in 2011.
The last time astronauts went into space from U.S. soil was when the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched for the final time in 2011. This will be the first time human beings have flown on a brand new United States spacecraft since 1981. The rocket will blast off from the same pad where the space shuttle last soared in 2011.
The launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is part of NASA's commercial crew program. The program was started in 2010. It is funded by the U.S. government and administered by NASA through which private vendors develop and operate vehicles to carry US and international astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX beat out Boeing to be first.
The two astronauts who will test drive SpaceX's brand new rocketship and return human orbital launches to the U.S. are classmates and friends. They're also veteran spacefliers married to veteran spacefliers, and fathers of young sons.
Retired Marine Col. Doug Hurley will be in charge of launch and landing, a fitting assignment for the pilot of NASA's last space shuttle mission. Air Force Col. Bob Behnken will oversee rendezvous at the International Space Station.
It is expected to take the astronauts about 19 hours to reach the International Space Station. But how long they’ll be there remains uncertain, NASA said.
Once at the ISS, the astronauts will stay for an undetermined amount of time between one month and 110 days, to assist the three astronauts already on board with scientific research.
In the age of coronavirus, Brevard County officials and NASA are split on whether it's a good idea for spectators to show up for next week's space launch. In ordinary times, the beaches and roads along the Space Coast would be packed with people eager to witness the first astronaut launch from Florida in nine years.
NASA and Space X are urging people to stay at home next Wednesday for safety reasons. But officials in Brevard County are encouraging the crowds in an effort to jump-start a tourism industry hit hard this spring by coronavirus lockdowns.
About the Byline Writer:
Sera King is associate publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet serving greater Daytona Beach, Sanford, and Orlando, FL via HeadlineSurfer.com since 2008. King also is a byline writer, videographer and cartoonist for the media outlet. King received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration (3.84 gpa) from Ana G. Mendez University in Orlando in 2008. She lives in Sanford with her husband, Henry Frederick.
Headline Surfer LLC is published by Henry Frederick, Central Florida's award-winning journalist.