Originally I didn’t plan on watching the launch of the SpaceX NASA Dragon-2 rocket, but then a colleague shared a live feed of the launch process and I couldn’t resist tuning in at T minus 75 minutes. Once I saw the futuristic images from inside the cabin and those beautiful panoramic shots of the historic Kennedy Space Center, I was hooked. My eyes were glued on the TV screen.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft ready for lift-off on a Falcon 9 rocket. Image courtesy of NASA.
Let’s be clear, launching humans into space is still a high risk, high reward endeavour, despite all the scientific and technological progress we’ve made since the first moon landing. We know that things can go wrong. Many of us have have been watching live when things go horribly wrong. I was just a small boy in 1986 when Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. I was devastated along with the rest of the world. In the history of human spaceflight, there have been numerous close calls and several tragic incidents.
That’s why I get a tremendous sensation of admiration and respect when astronauts climb into the cabin of a spacecraft. It takes a lot of courage and trust to be seated in a spacecraft mounted on top of a 70m long launch vehicle, which will be filled with liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene propellants. This is not science fiction where lives are cheap – this is science fact where everything needs to go right.
At the same time images of space rockets on launch pads give us hope of a better future. We really are sending people to space! We have companies like SpaceX who are revolutionizing space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. If we’re doing this, perhaps we can also solve other hard problems, like climate change and deadly viruses?
Watching that countdown clock tick downwards is almost hypnotic. And on Wednesday, when the clock then dramatically stopped with 16:53 left, I felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment. Bad weather, damn! But it was the right call – you don’t want to add any unnecessary risks to a launch.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting Saturday, May 30th, for the next launch attempt for the Demo-2 mission. Let’s hope all goes well so that the crew makes it safely to the ISS, and back. I know what I’ll be doing on Saturday evening. There’s no way I’m going to miss that launch!