NASA Administrator Administers The COVID-19 Inspired Buzzkill

NASA Boss, Jim Bridenstine, has an unexpected message to space fans, everywhere, who might otherwise have been interested in celebrating the upcoming launch of our first manned mission from US soil in nearly a decade...

STAY HOME.

Instead, he urged the public to watch the launch online or on TV from home. “The challenge that we’re up against right now is we want to keep everybody safe," Bridenstine noted. "And so we’re asking people not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center, and I will tell you that makes me sad to even say it. Boy, I wish we could make this into something really spectacular.”

Indeed; the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge to everyone involved... as the launch teams have had to manage how to deal with coronavirus. Even in the midst of the global pandemic, mission preparations have carefully continued – with precautions. Those precautions – such as social distancing – now extend to launch viewers, too.

The caution is supported by the SpaceX crew.

“We won’t have the luxury of having our family and friends being there at Kennedy to watch the launch. But, obviously, it’s the right thing to do in the current environment,” says Astronaut Doug Hurley. “We want everybody to be safe. We want everybody to enjoy this and relish this moment in U.S. space history, but be safe and enjoy it from a distance.”

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 4:32 p.m. EDT Wednesday, May 27, for the launch of the Demo-2 flight, which will be the first time a commercially built and operated American rocket and spacecraft will carry humans to the space station. The launch, as well as other activities leading up to the launch, will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station at 11:29 a.m. Thursday, May 28.

This will be SpaceX’s final test flight of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and will provide data on the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking and landing operations.

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.spacex.com