NASA - Space X - Dragon launch - now!

[mr noble]

Set for 07:49 GMT.

Watch live on NASA TV.

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public

[monogroover]

Thanks! Got up a few minutes too late for lift off, but did a rewind on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZL0tbOZYhE

[jmarchitect]

Thanks for the heads up op. That made for some enjoyable viewing over breakfast.

[alfat33]

In watched it live on Sky news. Very enjoyable. I wonder, if I live long enough, whether space travel might just be affordable as a once in a lifetime experience. Maybe in 20 years time, if Bezos, Musk and Branson can make it work.

[Coronet king]

Thanks! Got up a few minutes too late for lift off, but did a rewind on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZL0tbOZYhE

Thanks for the link👍

[mr noble]

Amazing seeing the first stage land back down upright on a floating platform. Incredible stuff!

[P9CLY]

Fantastic.

[oldoakknives]

Amazing seeing the first stage land back down upright on a floating platform. Incredible stuff!

For me that’s the incredible part, always looks like something off Thunderbirds!

[davide]

It was stunning being able to watch it live.

My first thought was that we've hardly moved on in the 50 years since Apollo but maybe that's not the case - we're creating a more solid base for future exploration backed by private rather than national finance.

[Tooks]

Amazing seeing the first stage land back down upright on a floating platform. Incredible stuff!

Some people believe the moon landings were fake, but they believe this ‘self landing rocket’ stuff... bizarre.

Always impressive seeing a rocket launch, makes you realise how much energy is required to break the bounds of earth.

It also makes you realise that should we ever need to evacuate earth, not many of us will be going! At least with today’s tech anyway.

[Tooks]

It was stunning being able to watch it live.

My first thought was that we've hardly moved on in the 50 years since Apollo but maybe that's not the case - we're creating a more solid base for future exploration backed by private rather than national finance.

That made me google ‘NASA vs Space X budget’, and the results clearly show that without NASA none of the private enterprises could be doing what they’re doing without them.

Adjusted for inflation, NASA has spent over $1 trillion since its inception, an average of over $20 billion a year. It apparently provides all the deep space infrastructure that Space X et al will need if they ever get to Mars.

Space exploration is still very much the preserve of wealthy nations, albeit with the welcome addition of private enterprise.