With storms raging across Florida’s “Space Coast,” the SpaceX decided against the launch of its Crew Dragon shuttle on Wednesday, May 27th, 2020. SpaceX has stated that there will be another chance to launch the spacecraft on Saturday, May 30th, 2020, if the weather permits it. However, this seems to also be in doubt with weather forecasts – until the time of writing – predict more stormy weather to hang over the site of the launch on Saturday. Should Saturday also turn out to be not an optimal day for the launch, SpaceX will push it to the next day – Sunday, May 31st, 2020. This news has hit the two astronauts of the Crew Dragon space shuttle the hardest.
Astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken have been training for the past four years in anticipation of the world’s first privately funded spaceship. As if it were routine, they put on their suits and went to the launch pad. After talking with their respective families and buckling in for the launch, they awaited the go-ahead from command to begin the launch sequence. Meanwhile, SpaceX leaders were anticipating the final call from the forecasters, who had remained optimistic all day, despite the bad weather. Ten minutes before launch, however, the mission managers overseeing the launch received word that weather conditions would not improve and, therefore, had to cancel the launch. Both NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and SpaceX founder Elon Musk both stated that mission safety was of higher priority than the historical significance of the mission.