I fear the dreaded day is upon us.

Ms. Tree has just set her tracker destination for Louisiana. This may be the end of Ms. Tree and Ms. Chief's involvement in SpaceX operations.

Both ships have been stripped of all SpaceX equipment over the last month. Watching for a departure

Gavin Cornwell  (@SpaceXFleet) April 6, 2021

They have served Proudly and Well.

MsChief still at the Port.
Crew are sleeping.
Have a buddy working out there , I guess they are leaving in 2 more days

If they launch today check out your local passes at Heavens Above.

Set your location (upper right) then click on the link for passes (upper left).

I have an overhead pass around 800 PM but it may not be dark enough.   Recent launches I have needed binoculars to see them.

webcast has started

nailed it

great view from the 1st stage

Lol the monkeys were slow putting the landing picture up on the split screen

she sounds nervous

shes cute...i'll allow it

haha, full view all the way down!

Won't be long before SpaceX has landed more rockets than ULA has launched

SpaceX will probably have individual boosters this year that launch more times than ULA or Ariane...

Bob & Doug booster rides again.
Go SpaceX!!

That is the view I've been longing to see! Full view all the way down similar to land landings.

10/10

2021 dV adjusted tonnage to orbit ranking:

7.  Arianespace
6.  ULA
5.  B1060
4.  B1058
3.  B1049
2.  B1051
1.  SpaceX (total)

Watched it from my office today. Very nice clear weather.

pretty cool shot

I think not having the on camera views for the first part rattled her a bit. Something must have gone wrong and she was thrown off.

I think they actually did last year.

Perhaps because of the Starlink internet system on OCISLY?

I just saw a pass of the satellites at 801 PM local and they were great.   Even though the sky was not very dark, I picked them up first using binoculars then looked and they were easy to see visually.

New Scott Manley video out about fairing recovery and where it's headed.
MsChief is still at the Port , MsTree has left us.

Ms. Chief said goodbye this morning

Some of my best friends are nervous.

A @Commercial_Crew update: the four astronauts set to launch April 22 on NASA's @SpaceX Crew-2 mission have entered their official quarantine period. This is a routine part of the final preparations for all missions to the @Space_Station. More: https://t.co/FCAtJ6D5na pic.twitter.com/6iTLWNdpS6

NASA  (@NASA) April 14, 2021

SpaceX plans to begin launching Starlink internet satellites into polar orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as soon as July, the first of a series of Starlink missions from the West Coast flying as often as once per month.

\uD83D\uDCF7: @SpaceXhttps://t.co/ZQ9QmV2hSl pic.twitter.com/9uHhwAnAOA

Spaceflight Now  (@SpaceflightNow) April 14, 2021

Nice. We might see some action in Nor Cal.

SpaceX installs Dragon spaceship on the rocket that’ll take it to space

"For the third time ever, SpaceX has installed a Crew Dragon spacecraft scheduled to launch astronauts on the Falcon 9 rocket that’ll carry it to orbit, sailing past one of the mission’s last major preflight milestones.

Known as Crew-2, the NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) mission will be SpaceX’s second operational crew ferry mission after its operational Crew-1 debut launched flawlessly on November 15th, 2020. Since November 16th, the Crew-1 Crew Dragon has been docked to the International Space Station (ISS) in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) – marking at least two major firsts – and won’t return to Earth until Crew-2 has safely joined it at the station.

Simultaneously developed as part of the Commercial Crew Program, a raft of technical and organizational shortcomings have extensively delayed Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule, effectively forcing NASA to lean on SpaceX to pick up the slack with multiple back-to-back Crew Dragon missions. Organizational excellence aside, Crew-2 is also on track to secure two of the most significant reusability achievements in SpaceX’s long history of significant reusability achievements.

Mere days after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off with NASA astronauts aboard for the first time ever, becoming the first crewed launch in history to use a commercially-developed rocket or spacecraft, the space agency effectively gave the company permission to fly its astronauts on flight-proven versions of those same vehicles.

While those plans have effectively fallen under the radar relative to other SpaceX activities, it’s not unreasonable to say that a successful Crew-2 launch with both a flight-proven Falcon 9 booster and Crew Dragon capsule would be one of the most significant technical achievements in the company’s history. At the bare minimum, it will be the most symbolically significant achievement in SpaceX’s history."


After successfully carrying NASA astronauts to orbit and back, C206 was recovered on August 2nd and has since been refurbished for Crew-2. (NASA – Bill Ingalls)

After acing its role in SpaceX’s first operational astronaut launch five months ago, Falcon 9 booster B1061 will also be flying for the second time on Crew-2 – especially fitting given that the Crew-2 will meet the only other spacecraft and astronauts launched on the same booster at the ISS. As of Thursday, April 15th, Crew-2 is seven days away from a launch planned no earlier than 6:11 am EDT (10:11 UTC) on Thursday, April 22nd.


B1061 awaits its second historic launch as its second astronaut crew inspects their ride. (SpaceX)

Polar launches out of vandy go southward though

SpaceX's Gerstenmaier: One issue noted during today's #Crew2 FRR.

"In Texas, we discovered there was a potential loading error...may actually be loading a little extra (liquid) oxygen."

Said it's always been part of the process. Will review data before test fire on Saturday.

Emre Kelly  (@EmreKelly) April 15, 2021

During testing, teams found a difference in loaded LOX versus what readouts showed. Has likely always been the case without adverse effect, but needs to be studied.

"Propellant level in the tank was about three to four inches different than what we had anticipated it would be."

Emre Kelly  (@EmreKelly) April 15, 2021

#Crew2 launch windows: 04/22 and 04/23; skip two days, then two more opportunities on 4/26 and 4/27.

Emre Kelly  (@EmreKelly) April 15, 2021

Portzilla full hook-up on B1058 on Monday.
It's not easy getting the entire structure in one frame with my little camera , but managed on this one.

Attached File

Falcon 9 and Dragon are vertical on Launch Complex 39A. This will be the first human spaceflight mission to fly astronauts on a flight-proven Falcon 9 and Dragon https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK pic.twitter.com/brhNujSIY4

SpaceX  (@SpaceX) April 17, 2021

Just amazes me what SpaceX has accomplished in such little time.

May 5 1961 Alan Shepard was the first American to get in to Space.

8 years later July 20 1969 two Americans landed on the Moon.

SpaceX first orbital flight was September 2008 , nearly 13 years ago.

First US orbital flight was 1958..

True.

The advances are nearly mirrored on a timeline.
The feats , however , are not.

Not when it comes to manned space flight.

NASA killed people in the process..

1) Background info:    Source:  SpaceFlightNow.com

"A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on its second operational flight with astronauts on-board to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet will launch on the Crew Dragon spacecraft.  The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea. "

The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station about 5:10 a.m. Saturday, April. 24. Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

2) Launch window: 5:49 AM EDT (23 April 2021)

3) Launch Site: SLC-39A, KSC, Florida

4) Webcast/TV viewing options:

a. SpaceX webcast (Starts about four hours before liftoff)

b. YouTube:  



c.  NASA TV



5) Launch preparations:

a.   First stage recovery vessel OCISLY location in Atlantic


Tug Finn Falgout will tow OCISLY 542 km downrange.

Full recovery details: http://spacexfleet.com/next



6) First stage return/disposal: Ocean landing on OCISLY (“Of Course I Still Love You”)

7) Payload fairing recovery:   Not applicable

8) Mission press kit: Replaced with online format

9) Launch to deployment events/timeline:

Hours:Minutes:Seconds after lift-off

00:02:36   First stage MECO (main engine cutoff)
00:02:47   Second stage starts
00:08:47   Second stage engine cutoff
00:09:03   1st stage entry burn
00:09:30   1st stage landing
00:11:58   Dragon separates from the second stage

With sunrise around 6:48 AM EDT at the launch site this may be another opportunity to see great plume illumination.  People along the southeast coast and possibly into Virginia might be able to observe it.   I think I saw a photo taken from the Atlanta airport of a night launch so even some distance inland it could be visible.

From CBS now: Crew-2: As expected, launch of a SpaceX Crew Dragon has been delayed 24 hours, from Thursday to Friday, at 5:49 EDT (0949 UTC), due to offshore weather; station crew has been informed

official notice

Launch Update \uD83D\uDE80 @NASA and @SpaceX now are targeting Friday, April 23 at 5:49 a.m. ET for the launch of the Crew-2 mission to the @Space_Station due to unfavorable weather conditions along the flight path on Thursday.

Learn more: https://t.co/GSBum6JjfN pic.twitter.com/ylfQx0u2qT

— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) April 21, 2021

The countdown is ON!?\uD83D\uDE80

Tomorrow morning at 5:49 a.m. ET, @NASA's @SpaceX Crew-2 mission will launch from @NASAKennedy. Live coverage begins on April 23 at 1:30 a.m. ET. Will you be tuning in? https://t.co/zT1nOzR1ci pic.twitter.com/KvyGPdjCQE

— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) April 22, 2021

Bump for pre-sunrise launch tomorrow.

I'll be up.
Watching from home.
Lane reversal equip has already been set up  on the 520 and 528.

It's going to be like a zoo around here.

I sure hope so.
I'm sure that ALL involved with the launch from the bottom to the top are suffering from I did before a H.S. football playoff game.
Called it the 'Pre Game Piss Jitters'.
I know that they are all Professionals, but they delays must add a bit of anxiety.
However, a Safe Mission Is the Top Priority.

it's probably going to wake me up, on the plus side, I've had more tourists visiting my shop.