posted on 10th November, 2020 3:00 pm by WaywardPlane
UPDATE: Crew 1 has slipped one day due to weather at the recovery location – to Sunday, as noted below. If you have Gray Line tickets, check your email for important re-booking information! -WP
Despite Tropical Storm Eta bouncing around the Gulf like a pinball, plans are still proceeding apace for the Crew One mission to the International Space Station, launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9 no earlier than Sunday, November 15th, at 7:27 p.m. local time (GMT-5), according to the Flight Readiness Review that concluded today.
The latest word is that SpaceX will be launching supplies and science on the CRS-20 mission to the International Space Station on a Falcon 9 rocket from SLC-40 on Friday, March 6, 2020 at 11:50 pm EST (delayed from Monday, March 2, 2020 at 1:45 am EST). This launch will feature a Return to Landing Site (RTLS) booster return to LZ-1.
Star*Fleet Tours will be operating a viewing mission on their boats for this launch. Tickets remain on sale with a few spots still available for $75 per person, although their website still states the previous launch date; as per their policies, tickets purchased for March 2 will be honored for the reschedule. This will be the best possible vantage point for viewing the booster landing! Get in on this if you can. More information is available at star-fleet.tours/current.
Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral states that “tickets will be on sale soon” for this launch. They offer an elevated view of launch and landing (7 stories up, on their observation deck) but do not allow folding chairs or tripods. Their website at explorationtower.com will have more information on this.
Jetty Park has not yet announced whether they will be open for this launch (which lies outside their normal operating hours) but based on past launches, it seems likely that they will be. This location will be preferable for viewing the booster landing. Their page at facebook.com/JettyParkBeachandCampground will have more information.
The pedestrian lanes of the Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville will likely be available for launch viewing. Its northerly location of the Max Brewer Bridge will favor launch viewing over landing, but the elevation of the bridge may allow a better view. Open spaces and parks along U.S. 1 in Titusville, such as the location at Rt. 50 and U.S. 1, and Space View Park, will also be available for viewing.
Viewing locations that will be CLOSED and unavailable include Playalinda Beach, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, and any park along U.S. 1 which has gates that can be closed to prevent cars from entering/leaving their parking lot.
Following CRS-20, the next launch scheduled from the Space Coast will be SpaceX’s Starlink 5 mission, launching another batch of Starlink satellites from pad LC-39A on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 10:40 am EDTSaturday, March 14, 2020 at 9:35 AM. Because this is a morning launch, most standard viewing locations should be available and accessible. As Starlink launches historically feature drone ship landings of the first-stage boosters, which are not visible from shore, and because these launches tend to head northward, viewing sites that are to the north and west of the pad (Kennedy Space Center’s Banana Creek/Apollo Saturn V Center, Playalinda Beach, areas along U.S. 1 in Titusville) may be preferable to more southern areas like Jetty Park and Cocoa Beach.
Watch this space for further updates, and best of luck on your launch viewing journey!
