Originally published February 7, 2018
I was fairly busy over the past few days, so I missed my self-imposed deadline of publishing a blog post on Monday. However, I feel compelled to write something after what has just happened today.
The photo below is of Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that I have visited in December 2016. This one of the most important sites in the history of space exploration: from here, Apollo 11 and its crew boldly went where no man has gone before in 1969, followed by the first Space Shuttle mission in 1981. It is now leased by SpaceX, and today they made another historic launch from there with the Falcon Heavy and the Tesla Roadster. After they have chased away the alligator in the picture.
I am really envious of the older generations who witnessed those space exploration milestones. I cannot imagine how exciting it was to see the black and white, low-resolution feed from the Moon, or to even hear about earlier launches on the radio. I remember listening to the live radio broadcast of Space Shuttle Discovery landing in 2005, the first Space Shuttle mission after the Columbia tragedy, and the first time I felt I am witnessing space history.
Unfortunately, I was not able to be at the Kennedy Space Center today and was not even able to tune in to the live cast of the Falcon Heavy Launch, but even watching it after the fact was amazing. If you have not watched it yet, I highly recommend that you do (the actual content starts at about 7:50 and T-60 before launch is at 28:53). My favorite parts were the two side boosters landing in sync and the surreal images of the “Starman” floating above the Earth in a Tesla Roadster.
By the way, there is still live feed going of the Starman and the final stage floating in space. It is absolutely captivating.