SpaceX launch scrubbed

UPDATE 1:25 p.m.

The launch of a SpaceX rocket ship with two NASA astronauts on a history-making flight into orbit has been called off with 16 minutes to go in the countdown because of the danger of lightning.

Liftoff is rescheduled for Saturday.

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 U.S. soil for the first time in nearly a decade.

Ever since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian rockets to carry astronauts to and from the space station.

UPDATE 12:55 p.m.

With thunderstorms threatening a delay, two NASA astronauts climbed aboard a SpaceX rocket ship Wednesday for liftoff on a history-making flight that was seen as a giant leap forward for the booming business of commercial space travel.

Space veterans Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken were scheduled to ride into orbit aboard the brand-new Dragon capsule on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, taking off for the International Space Station at 4:33 p.m. EDT from the same launch pad used during the Apollo moon missions a half-century ago.

Smiling, waving and giving the traditional thumbs-up, the two men said farewell to their families — exchanging blown kisses and pantomiming hugs for their young sons from a coronavirus-safe distance — before setting out for the pad in a gull-wing Tesla SUV, another product from SpaceX’s visionary founder, Elon Musk.

Both President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence arrived to watch the liftoff.

The flight would mark the first time a private company sent humans into orbit.

It would also be the first time in nearly a decade that the United States launched astronauts into orbit from U.S. soil. Ever since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian spaceships launched from Kazakhstan to take U.S. astronauts to and from the space station.

With 2 1/2 hours to go before liftoff, controllers put the chances of launch at just 40 per cent because of thunderstorms at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Thunder could be heard as the astronauts made their way to the pad, and a tornado warning was issued moments after they climbed into their capsule.

In the event of a postponement, the next launch opportunity would be Saturday.

ORIGINAL 7:30 a.m.

A SpaceX rocket is ready to boost two NASA astronauts into orbit today, the first launch of Americans from the U.S. in nearly a decade.

Liftoff is set for 4:33 p.m. EDT from the same spot at Kennedy Space Center where men flew to the moon and the last space shuttle blasted off in 2011.

“This is a big moment in time,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said on the eve of the launch. “It's been nine years since we've had this opportunity.”

The launch puts Elon Musk's SpaceX on the cusp of becoming the first private company to put astronauts in orbit, something achieved by just three countries — Russia, the U.S. and China.

Riding aboard the brand new SpaceX Dragon capsule for the historic flight: veteran NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. The test flight will take them to the International Space Station.

“We are ready!” Behnken tweeted Tuesday night.

Bridenstine describes the duo as bold American heroes who are “laying the foundation for a new era in human spaceflight.”

Wednesday's weather in Florida has been a concern; it was raining with low clouds in the morning.

NASA pushed ahead with the astronaut launch despite the coronavirus pandemic, but asked spectators to stay at home to lower the risk of spreading the virus. Beaches and parks along Florida's Space Coast are open again, and local officials and businesses put out a socially distanced welcome mat. Signs on local businesses wished “Godspeed SpaceX.”

Hours before the launch, cars and RVs lined the causeway in Cape Canaveral, with prime views of the pad.

President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence are expected to be at Kennedy, where visitors will be limited.

NASA will have input throughout the countdown, but in the end, it will be SpaceX giving the final go — with NASA’s concurrence.

“SpaceX is controlling the vehicle, there’s no fluff about that,” said Norm Knight, a NASA flight operations manager.