
SpaceX successfully launches two humans into orbit - tosh
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronauts-launch-from-america-in-historic-test-flight-of-spacex-crew-dragon
======
dang
Other things people have posted, whose threads we've merged hither:

[https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1266812530833240064](https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1266812530833240064)

[https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/30/spacex-makes-history-
with-...](https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/30/spacex-makes-history-with-
successful-first-human-space-launch/)

[https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/05/todays-the-day-
weath...](https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/05/todays-the-day-weather-
permitting-america-is-returning-to-space/)

If there's a particularly good article, we can swap out the URL above. Edit:
beefman suggested the nasa.gov page
([https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23364975](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23364975)),
so we'll put that up pending any better suggestion. The submitted URL was the
livestream
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIZsnKGV8TE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIZsnKGV8TE),
which was fine while it lasted, but is now of the second freshness. Submitted
title was "SpaceX and NASA: Crew Demo-2".

~~~
jakswa
livestream still relevant? Docking with ISS tomorrow morning? All the tests
they are doing?

~~~
colordrops
Yes, live broadcast until docking at 10:30am EST.

~~~
jasode
To clarify, it's "EDT" not "EST":

[https://www.google.com/search?q=spacex+dock+%22space+station...](https://www.google.com/search?q=spacex+dock+%22space+station%22+%2210%3A29%22+%2214%3A29%22)

Fyi that "Daylight Saving Time" instead of "Standard Time" is in effect in
case someone miscalculates it by 1 hour.

~~~
numpad0
Out of curiosity, how do modern systems handle DST outside its seasons e.g.
“12/31 21:15 EDT”?

~~~
ptero
I think on most Linux systems a time string in a specific timezone is just a
visual representation. Internally, times are kept as a number of seconds from
1/1/70 UTC midnight (with leap second adjustments if needed). When a user
wants to convert to/from a timezone it is a simple addition for the timezone
offset. EST adjustment is always 5 hours, EDT always 4.

You _could_ in principle warn users that they are asking for a strange time,
e.g. the one you indicated, but if the user wants to see it, why not.

~~~
croutonwagon
I know on ubuntu servers i had to revert any DST/timezone settings and just
keep everything in UTC. Because the systemd daemon for time didnt respect DST
changes and would break services like kerberos.

------
ChuckMcM
It is hard to convey how "sustainable" this feels to me. For the first time,
humans have gone into orbit in a spacecraft that was designed from the ground
up to be a commercial venture.

All of the NASA missions prior to this have an ambience of "uneconomical but
useful". Even the shuttle, which was supposed to be this cost effective space
truck, turned out to be not even close.

And the last thing I'm feeling is the amazement at how much technology has
evolved to get us to this point. I imagined as a child that the Apollo program
would lead to a factory of rockets that launched people to orbit, to the Moon,
and even to Mars on demand. And seeing what SpaceX has done to get to this
point, it is clear to me that was never even close to possible. The Russian
program is great in that way. It shows what that path might have looked like.
And yes we could have refined the making of F1 engines, the construction of
boosters, and just pushed that, but that leads to a steady state that is below
what you need to run a program like this with a net positive economic outcome.

So very impressed guys, congratulations!

~~~
sandworm101
>> into orbit in a spacecraft that was designed from the ground up to be a
commercial venture.

If we are talking pure commercial travel, it is a vehicle without a
destination. The ISS is definitely not a commercial project. There are lots of
reasons for the ISS to exist, and they have changed over time, but it has
never been a money-making venture. While the dragons certainly do come in
under budget, they are a more efficient path to orbit, the purpose of the
mission is not commercial. Crew Dragon's existence is funded by the need to
move people to and from the ISS. Without the ISS, Crew Dragon would exist. I
hold off on the "commercial" designation until the customer funding the
mission actually intends profit.

What we need is a commercial, money-making, reason to launch people into
orbit. Astronauts fly for science. They fly for national pride. They fly to
demonstrate engineering excellence. They don't fly to make money. I'm a big
spacelaunch fan but I just don't see any commercial reason to launch people
into space. (Space hotels for billionaires might be a niche but that doesn't
seem sustainable imho.)

~~~
runarberg
I’m not super well informed on this, but is there _any_ reason for sending
humans to space at this moment in time (or for the next 20 years for that
matter). The only reason my layperson understanding can think of is mining
minerals in space, but I fail to see why robots wouldn’t be able to adequately
do the job. In fact wouldn’t sending humans make future space ventures even
more costly and put people into unessisary risk?

~~~
bouncycastle
Building a moon-base or mars-base would be an interesting experiment for
humans.

1\. Have a backup of our species in case something happens to Earth.

2\. A great experiment in anthropology! It could help us rethink how we
organize life on earth. As far as I see, a moonbase would be a "greenfield
project" on land that doesn't belong to any nation, where they have to build
everything from scratch. How will they organize? Will they need to work or
will robots be doing everything for them? Will they be paid & will they have
their own money? They will need to reject racism & nationalism to get their
goals accomplished, for sure.

~~~
mikepurvis
There are plenty of inhospitable places here on earth where you could set up
your anthropology experiment— deep under the ocean, for example, heck there
was even a series of videogames made about this exact scenario. :)

~~~
bouncycastle
That's right. I'd like to see that happen too. Although I'd argue that space
has much more abundant materials & resources due to its vastness. Minus the
geopolitical baggage.

More importantly, there is a bootstrap problem. Where are the funds going to
come from? There is no commercial benefit from such an experiment except
perhaps tourism. On the other hand, a space colony could develop a self
sustainable economy, developing various enterprises from tourism, mining to
manufacturing

~~~
m4rtink
Yeah, the bootstrap funding is the main issue - other than that basically
_all_ available resources are out there in space, pretty much by definition.
From that poikt of view it is a no brainer, once the initial cliff can be
overcome.

------
aeturnum
How wonderful!

Congratulations to the entire Space X team, this is a real accomplishment and
I'm sure not one that came easily. It's exciting to see relatively small
companies fulfilling roles that people thought might require massive military
contractors.

Elon is an interesting figure. He is, I think, a paradigmatic example of the
imperfect creator. His undeniable success in difficult endeavors can create an
aura of authority for acting within domains where signals about the
appropriateness of his judgement are less clear. We've had technical experts
lead us down paths that were not, in hindsight, in our best interests (I think
of Teller and Von Neumann's advocacy for aggressive action against the USSR).
I hope we can move away from the "elon sucks" v.s. "elon is a genius"
dichotomy and into a culture of acknowledging accomplishment while insisting
claims in other areas be fully justified.

~~~
sunstone
Perhaps a more interesting comparison is between Elon the CEO of Tesla and
Elon the CEO of SpaceX. You may notice that these are two very different
personalities that serve two different corporate requirements.

The Elon of SpaceX introduces himself as "I'm proud to be here representing
the SpaceX team." The Elon of Tesla is smoking up on camera, throwing
humongous ball bearings at the Cybertruck windows, sleeping in his sleeping
bag while trying to bring Model 3 production through the Shadow of the Valley
of Death.

You almost never hear about any of Elon's direct contributions to SpaceX
whereas he's mister Tesla front and center at Tesla pulling stunt after tweet.
SpaceX servers a very conservative industrial market and Tesla makes consumer
products. These companies require to very different types of leadership. Who
is the real Elon behind this public Jekyll and Hyde dynamic? Most likely it's
the driven "man of first principles" just doing what needs to be done.

~~~
nickik
I think you are pretty wrong, I see absolutely no difference at all and I
follow both companies pretty closely.

The media is just much more actively following Tesla in because they are
marketing to the general population there is a far more detailed view on
Tesla.

However overall Elon is pretty much just Elon al the time. Elon talks about
the Starship pretty much like he does about the Cybertruck. These are just
products he is working on, he informs people about what is going on, changes
that they are doing and so on.

Both during SpaceX and Tesla talks he gives about equal time thanking the team
as far as I can tell. We know that Elon for example pushed the team to develop
phase shut off for Merlin engine. We know that Elon was pushing for adopting
steal on the Starship. With both companies its not totally clear when what
decisions are made (as makes sense with private companies), but overall I
think its pretty much the same.

Most of his twitter shananigans have nothing to do with Tesla or SpaceX, or
have to do with both. The Tesla factory opening was of course about Tesla, but
his comments in general about Corona were not. His Thailand diver thing was
not about a particular company either.

> The Elon of Tesla is smoking up on camera

In that interview he spent about equal time on both companies

> sleeping in his sleeping bag while trying to bring Model 3 production
> through the Shadow of the Valley of Death

He has said much the same kind of stuff for SpaceX stuff too. Not specifically
sleeping in the factory but overwork after failures, not sleeping for a long
time and so on.

------
PaulVYoung
For me, the best thing about today (among so many wonderful things) is the
pure and utter inspirational value of every moment.

I remember being glued to my tv when I watched the first shuttle launch in 81.
For me, that inspired a lifelong passion for astronomy, which led to a PhD,
and eventually a successful tech career.

Today, I sat with my daughters and watched the launch live and then went
outside an hour or so later to watch the dragon (just visible) chase the ISS
along the horizon in the twilight. (Needed starwalk and some binoculars to
find it).

My 11 year old, was literally jumping up and down with excitement and was
still telling me about her plans for Mars when I kissed her goodnight. My 13
year old straight out said, “I want to go to university in the states so I
stand a chance of getting a job in that control room.”

This is exactly the sort of think I want my children to witness - what
humanity can accomplish when we work together.

~~~
mncharity
I thought this[1] was nicely done, and potentially inspiring for students.

[1] Planet Hunter [https://vimeo.com/419873718](https://vimeo.com/419873718)

~~~
mncharity
Though what I'd _really_ like to see... Different subcultures have _very_
different norms for thesis defenses. Some, molecular bio around MIT for
instance, have atypically extensive "thank you" postludes. Extensive as in say
quarter-hour slide shows. The defense audience is mostly the lab community,
friends, family. Slides of parents and siblings and family, BFFs, sometimes
undergrad friends, sometimes inspiring HS or college teachers, professors and
mentors, SO's and pets, grad friends and lab mates, trips and parties and
pranks. Stories and tears. Some of them are retrospectives on a life.
Sometimes the struggle of it is apparent. Often that it was a great deal of
fun. I speculate that it might be nifty for inspiring kids. "I can seem myself
there". Defendees, and their families, are diverse.

The defenses are public, and do get taped. But I've never seen an accessible
video of one. Perhaps with covid come fall. Anyway, I thought I'd mention it,
in case it nudges someone.

Hmm... Kunle Demuren has a thesis defense Monday Jun 1 at 10 on zoom...

------
pknerd
I am not American but as a human I feel so good about this mission. We all
have a habit of looking up to sky with an awe and appreciate the beauty. My 10
years old son was so excited. Who knows he might get into this field. I wanted
to study astrophysics while I was a teen. He was also watching live stream
with me.

Congrats and lots of love from Pakistan. Desperately waiting for Docking
moments.

~~~
mLuby
That's so wonderful. I liked how Astronaut Garrett Reisman put it today:
[https://youtu.be/GuXBdTF2jUY?t=4460](https://youtu.be/GuXBdTF2jUY?t=4460)

> "I hope for ten minutes just now you looked up and saw something exciting,
> something to give you hope of a future full of wonder. That's the magic of
> human spaceflight."

We cannot voyage far into space without our best human qualities: cooperation,
reason, and hope. Each small step for all humankind.

------
tectonic
This is a huge success for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Both the total
development costs ($1.7B and $2.8B for Crew Dragon and Starliner,
respectively) and the per-seat costs ($60-67M and $91-99M) have outperformed
all other NASA crewed programs since the early days of the agency. For
comparison, development costs for the Space Shuttle were $27.4B, while Orion
is estimated at $23.7B.

(From [https://orbitalindex.com](https://orbitalindex.com))

~~~
jorblumesea
But how much of that cost was initial R&D vs what SpaceX was doing?

It's hard to compare costs given that it feels like much of NASA space
development was science research into how to actually do it, paving the way
for future projects.

There are many examples of successful commercial programs that could only
exist because of huge ("unprofitable") government R&D behind it. Google maps,
the entire internet, commercial space flight, commercial aviation...

I'm not arguing against their success, it's remarkable. I just wonder if this
is more nuanced.

~~~
wolf550e
SLS and Orion were developed in the 21st century, when there was no need for
new basic science research, and their development costs are staggering.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System#Funding_hi...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System#Funding_history)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(spacecraft)#Funding_his...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_\(spacecraft\)#Funding_history_and_planning)

~~~
ineedasername
That's not because of NASA's poor work though, much of the cost bloat there
was due to the legislation that dictated how those programs had to operate,
like sole-sourcing components, requiring use of Space Shuttle components
furthering vendor lock in, etc. It's not a testament to NASA's failings, its a
testament to politicians' self-serving legislation.

~~~
rossdavidh
True that, but that would point to the need to do this outside of NASA.

~~~
ineedasername
I would say it should lead to reform in the legislative process for these
sorts of projects. This launch represents the triumph of private enterprise,
yes, but there is a strategic need for the US to have such capabilities
independently of the ups & downs of private industry. So I would say it points
to the need to have a blended approach. I would love, for example, for NASA to
license the technology from SpaceX with a massive knowledge-transfer
initiative to provide NASA the capabilities to do these launches itself.

I would love, for example, for NASA to license the technology from SpaceX with
a massive knowledge-transfer initiative to provide NASA the capabilities to do
these launches itself.

~~~
wolf550e
NASA wants to do exactly the opposite: help create an economy in low earth
orbit in which there are many suppliers and many buyers in a healthy market. A
market that doesn't need a lot of government intervention, so NASA can buy
rides the way they buy regular non-space commercial shipping of people and
cargo between NASA centers. They want LEO flights to eventually be managed by
FAA and some traffic control organization, like airliner flights.

This can only work if there truly are many competing sellers and buyers of the
same service.

A market with a monopoly or monopsony doesn't work well, and the military
industrial sector often has both: NASA, NRO and DoD are not competing as
buyers while Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman basically take turns
as contractors because DoD doesn't let one win or lose too many contracts in a
row to prevent one of them needing rescue.

------
sakopov
It's absolutely incredible to see this. So much work to get us here. So much
work just to organize this launch event. Seeing astronauts getting dropped off
in one of the most technologically advanced automobiles on Earth and walk into
the capsule sitting on top of a rocket which is the Pinnacle of humanity's
biggest advancements in technology and space is astounding and goosebumps-
enducing. What a time to be alive!

~~~
shoulderfake
I dont get it, wasnt this already accomplished? Whats the big deal ? The space
station already exists, astronauts have gone there before.

~~~
ineedasername
Because it's the first time in a decade the US has done it, and done it in a
way that is significantly less expensive, paving the way for much easier
access. It's a minor historical event in terms of human achievement since, as
you said, we've done it before. But it's a major economical event in the
history of space exploration, and historic for the potential that represents.

------
thoraway1010
Quick note:

Boeing got the big bucks at $5B or so for their crewed services because they
have the "better" more reliable design.

SpaceX only got $3B or so.

Boeing running roughly 60%+ more per seat as well.

So a real accomplishment so far for SpaceX to pull this off.

~~~
thePunisher
But Boeing is forever crooning: "Yeah, but we put a man on the Moon." So NASA
will lick their boots anytime and pay them whatever they want.

Off course, if Boeing messes up again, the carpet will be pulled from under
their feet.

~~~
monocasa
I think it's more that the DoD props up Boeing in any way they can, from
sweetheart contracts like this, to trade policies designed to destroy
competition (the Bombardier thing), to outright industrial espionage of other
firms (the leaks of Airbus's foreign negotiations).

Edit: Changed Embraer to Bombardier thanks to emiliobumachar's friendly
reminder.

~~~
aksss
Not like Airbus’s hands are clean. [https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-
offices/press-office/press-...](https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-
offices/press-office/press-releases/2019/december/united-states-wins-sixth-
time)

~~~
monocasa
The WTO is run by a very specific brand of economists that don't see the value
in a country subsidizing an industry to maintain local expertise in that
industry.

I for one disagree pretty heavily with this ruling.

~~~
nradov
The WTO is run by bureaucrats who enforce the terms of the membership
agreement. If national governments think it's important to subsidize local
industries then they should negotiate agreements to allow for that. Don't
blame the WTO.

~~~
monocasa
That has the effect of cutting yourself off from more or less all trade.

The WTO leaves you with three options as not the US. 1) Capitulate and lose
about any industries as the efficiencies of scales of the US economy steam
rolls any industries they don't explicitly prop up in your country (the Israel
model if you're lucky, the African model if you're unlucky). 2) Cut yourself
off from essentially all global trade (the North Korea model) 3) form a large
enough economy that you can flaunt more and more of the WTOs rules because
what are they going to do? (The Chinese and EU model).

------
PopeDotNinja
I think it's ridiculous that a rocket can fly up to 90km and return to Earth
in a controlled landing in under 10 minutes. So cool.

~~~
BeetleB
Well, the escape velocity for Earth is 11.2 km/s...

~~~
saagarjha
Surely they don't want to being that fast ;)

~~~
mr_toad
ISS orbits at 7.6 km/s.

There’s a saying that once you’re in LEO you’re halfway across the universe.

------
modeless
Perhaps of interest to HN, the cockpit displays seen in the videos are HTML
pages rendered in Chromium.
[https://twitter.com/alteredq/status/1266853705632145409?s=19](https://twitter.com/alteredq/status/1266853705632145409?s=19)

SpaceX recently released a browser game where you use the real flight UI to
dock with the ISS: [https://iss-sim.spacex.com/](https://iss-sim.spacex.com/)

~~~
yreg
Aren't physical buttons that you can feel with your touch safer than touch
screens?

~~~
tdy721
Not if they weigh so much you don’t make 11.2km/s

~~~
hanniabu
Also there's the adaptability aspect. For manual controls you'd need a ton of
physical controls and you need the astronauts to know them by heart. With a
screen that has an adaptable interface it's much easier UX on the astronaut as
the controls increase. Also I'm sure ground control can push an emergency
update if need be where you wouldn't quite have that luxury with manual
controls.

------
reddog
My unsolicited advice to the folks on this thread that were moved by todays
launch: make time to travel to Florida and see one of these launches in
person. If you have kids take them with you.

Years ago I took some time out of a very busy schedule to see STS-130, the
last shuttle night launch. I've always been a space nerd but I wasn't prepared
for how seeing, hearing and _feeling_ a launch in person was so different than
watching it on a rectangle. And I wasn't prepared by how profound the
experience would be. It was one of the best on-the-whim-of-the-moment
decisions I've made in my life. Do it. I guarantee a lump in your throat.

~~~
sq_
Absolutely agree. It’s truly amazing. I’ve had the chance to go to Vandenberg
AFB in CA for two SpaceX launches, and while I’ve never actually gotten to see
the rocket itself because of low-level fog, the feeling of being there is
absolutely insane.

You hear the countdown over the radio, and a few seconds later you feel the
rumble hit you, and you can feel it in your chest as it goes up and away. It’s
an unmatched experience.

------
emit_time
I'm surprised how I almost ended up tearing up and was close to crying while
watching this.

Saying this as someone who is not a huge NASA or space enthusiast.

I did study physics, and I'm more into science than the average person though.

~~~
justatestttt
I pulled over on the side of the street to watch this with my kiddo on my
phone. It was a historic moment that I didn't want to miss.

I really wish that we didn't have to make EVERY experience ultra casual these
days though...it was disorienting to keep hearing the astronauts referred to
as "Bob and Doug". These are veteran Air Force and Marine pilots. They deserve
their honorifics being honored if anyone does.

~~~
ecpottinger
I have you know Bob and Doug are important people up here in Canada, they
showed us how to get a case of beer for free.

~~~
sephamorr
NASA hosted a (remote) movie night as a sendoff for Bob and Doug last week;
the movie selected by the pair, of course, was Strange Brew.

------
haunter
I'm actually surprised they use a touchscreen interface, and they will use
that for the manual docking too!
[https://i.imgur.com/YKiqIqO.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/YKiqIqO.jpg)

~~~
bryanlarsen
There are two rows of physical buttons below the touch screens along with a
large manual abort lever. The physical buttons are used for manual docking.

~~~
fermienrico
And it’s painted black against black backdrop when the decision to pull it
happens in milliseconds level. :facepalm:

This is what a Martin Baker ejection handle looks like:
[https://c8.alamy.com/comp/BJTDWG/martin-baker-ejection-
seat-...](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/BJTDWG/martin-baker-ejection-seat-out-of-
and-f4-phantom-jet-fighter-aircraft-BJTDWG.jpg)

With all due respect to all the engineers that work at SpaceX, the UI of the
cockpit has regressed to the point of pure marketing. Same with the suit
design, looks like an awful low budget sci-fi film. Functionalism and the
beauty in the way things are without adornment is dying. And, it is painful to
watch as a engineer who designs HMI systems. IMO design and aesthetic that
emerge out of the way things are is so much more authentic than CEO's
inspiration from a sci-fi movie genre that was probably conceived by some guy
in 80's in half a dozen hours before before putting up a hollywood set. These
movie makers did not study UX/UI and it was all about entertaining the
audience.

Just look at how functional and beautiful the aesthetics of space flight was
like during the golden era of Apollo 11. There was no design. There was just
pure emergence of aesthetics from whatever they were doing to make things
functional (ok, with some small exceptions like the logo and US flag on the
suits):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpLrp0SW8yg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpLrp0SW8yg)

Checkout the new Mars rover - absolutely zero marketing, pure function -
[https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8649/nasas-perseverance-mars-
rove...](https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8649/nasas-perseverance-mars-rover-gets-
balanced/)

If SpaceX designed a mars rover, it would have gaudy shrouds and plastic
covers, probably some LED lights to make it look cool, sleek 30, 45, 60 degree
angles everywhere (ohhh space aesthetics), and all kinds of marketing bullshit
whereas NASA engineers are focused on what is important. And it is gorgeous
without even trying.

~~~
hombre_fatal
This is some seriously lame backseat HN driving. Zero skin in the game, sat in
on zero mission briefs and zero design decisions. Never used it. Never spoken
to someone who has.

Yet think it makes for a good HN post to "facepalm" at their decisions.

------
kharak
I'm glad that the space age has been rekindled. I wish Europe would do
something similar.

~~~
voqv
Thinking of Europe, I have a feeling that it's just surreal that this launch
is happening in America at the same time with the events in Minneapolis

~~~
danhak
There is an eerie echo of history here. The late 60's were the height of civil
unrest in modern America. Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were
assassinated as Apollo astronauts were preparing to land on the moon.

~~~
ridewinter
Interesting point. And the riots today are nothing compared to the late 60's.
Yet.

------
Darmody
I'm so excited about this.

I used to watch old space mission videos and I think how could it would've
been to watch them live back in the day.

Now SpaceX has brought this excitement back.

~~~
runawaybottle
I definitely feel like a kid watching this.

~~~
Darmody
I was literally shaking from T - 2 minutes.

------
malwrar
Watching this launch has really been a bar-setting thing for me as an
engineer. It's done what folks stated as a goal many times during the launch
livestreams--I feel inspired to build great things after watching the success
of this mission. Looking at the history of Musk and SpaceX, I just get this
feeling of "I could do it too, I need to step up my game" and certainly hope
someday I get the opportunity to participate in similarly incredible projects!

------
NiceWayToDoIT
Who else has prepared snacks and beer? I can feel blood in my ears how excited
I am. Good luck SpaceX & NASA!

~~~
tiborsaas
I popped a Gulden Draak 9000 for this to be stylish :)

~~~
Insanity
Ha, not sure if people get how great that choice is if they don't know the
beer. For those who don't, Gulden Draak is a Belgian beer which translated
would be "Golden Dragon"

------
Zenst
Best video found so far of it that covers launch and landing of falcon 9. Alas
loss of signal during the moment, though I'm sure another camera angle/footage
will come about.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JPLgs3ktyo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JPLgs3ktyo)

~~~
Andrew_nenakhov
I've already seen conspiracy theorists online who claimed that loss of signal
during every first stage landing is a proof that it's all a hoax.

Like, they switch footage to another droneship with a rocket that was always
there.

I wonder if these people believe in flat Earth, too?

~~~
speedgoose
I read that the loss of the connection is very likely hardware related but I
wouldn't be surprised if SpaceX simply doesn't want to livestream something
that may crash with a high probability. Nothing to do with the anti-science
flat earth movement.

~~~
Gwypaas
Yes, shakes the whole rig causing the satellite dishes to not transmit most of
the times. Last time they missed we got a perfectly streamed cloud from the
booster crashing in the ocean instead. Also such a low priority, spend
engineering hours on the perfect feed which they either way collect in a
couple of hours or more pressing matters.

~~~
Andrew_nenakhov
Well, they likely could stream from another ship, bit affected by shaking. And
I think it should not be a 'low' priority task, given how big this is for
marketing and PR. Literally millions of people are watching these livestreams.
I bet if they placed some Disney/HBO logo on a landing pad, it would more than
earn back the additional expenses.

~~~
TeMPOraL
> _I bet if they placed some Disney /HBO logo on a landing pad, it would more
> than earn back the additional expenses._

Huh, that reminds me; a friend and I had a half-serious plan as teenagers, to
get Microsoft to invest in our venture to secure the (then) remaining Buran
orbiter, build a rocket and a launchpad for it, in exchange for plastering the
shuttle and the rocket top-to-bottom with Windows logos.

------
dmix
Does anyone know if there's an interactive map where we can track where Dragon
is in context of the earth?

~~~
vjba
[https://flightclub.io/live](https://flightclub.io/live)

------
jules-jules
Watching from Germany. The goosebumps are real. Cannot wait to see what the
future of SpaceX will bring.

------
tectonic
If you're into space science and technology and want to see where we're going
next, check out [https://orbitalindex.com](https://orbitalindex.com), a weekly
space science & technology newsletter that I co-write.

------
rkagerer
Every time they say "Bob and Doug" I keep thinking Bob and Jeb

~~~
fartcannon
What about Bob and Doug.. MacKenzie?

~~~
ChuckMcM
That is what I think but you have to be over a certain age I suspect.

Take off eh?

~~~
manaskarekar
Strange Brew for those wondering. Classic movie.

[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086373/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086373/)

~~~
ChuckMcM
And before the movie they were an occasional segment on the "SCTV comedy show.

------
ciconia
A 3-minute summary for those who missed it:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1mlCPMYtPk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1mlCPMYtPk)

------
qwe098cube
I'm so hyped for this.

I still remember when I was very little and my dad took me to a launch once.

Hope manned rocket launches will get more regular again and seeing them will
inspire a whole new generation.

------
1915cb1f
Anyone else feel that some parts were kind of tacky? I tuned in a few hours
before the launch, and I happened to watch the astronauts get loaded into a
branded Tesla car, and the announcers were gushing about how cool the side
doors were. I couldn't shake the feeling that half the stream was just
marketing for marketing for Elon's companies.

~~~
db48x
Broadcasters will say anything to avoid dead air. Just mute the stream until
about a minute before the launch; you'll be a lot happier.

------
rasz
National Geographic is using Youtube content ID to claim all spaceX streams as
their own.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tikZjwdhtSk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tikZjwdhtSk)
"This video contains content from National Geographic, who has blocked it on
copyright grounds."

------
avmich
The big and annoying issue with the Crew Dragon design seems to be the chosen
RCS fuel (AFAIK, monomethylhydrazine and N2O4), which makes both fueling and
clearing after landing a delicate process.

Hopefully Crew Dragon proves itself as a capable platform for Earth-orbit
transportation, but this fuel issue is a hard one to counter.

~~~
elliekelly
Earlier this week when they were de-fueling they mentioned that the "escape
system" was still active during that process. Is that because the fuel is
potentially dangerous? Tangentially related, can the "escape system" be
activated even when the rocket itself hasn't left the ground? I watched the
escape system test but IIRC it involved launching and then aborting so the pod
that carries the crew was already high off the ground before the escape system
was triggered. It surprised me that it could triggered from a standstill.

~~~
NikolaeVarius
Anything involving fuel is dangerous. Demo-2 is first time that humans are on
the rocket while its being fueled. The escape system is on while fueling and
defueling since those are high risk times for the rocket.

~~~
eecc
Even when boarding commercial flights, crew tells you not to fasten seat belts
if they’re still refueling. Just in case you need to evacuate (of course it’s
just a token concern, I would t expect to survive an airplane bursting in
flames even if still docked.)

~~~
dnautics
people have survived even crazier situations, like an airplane cartwheeling
down a runway AND THEN bursting into flames. (100+ survivors, out of ~300
IIRC)

------
manaskarekar
Good luck to everyone! What an exciting time.

Curious about the spacesuits and performance of the “minimal” touchscreen
interfaces compared to the older stuff.

~~~
devindotcom
The suits are just pressure suits, more for basic protection and temporary
loss of pressure, not extended EVAs or anything. They do look pretty
comfortable, though, and I think the audio and signal are better.

The touchscreen interface is "different" \- the astronauts talked a bit about
helping SpaceX design it and the pros and cons of it in a recent interview. I
wrote it up here but you can also check the original long NASA TV thing.

[https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/04/this-is-certainly-
differen...](https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/04/this-is-certainly-different-
astronauts-on-controlling-the-dragon-spacecraft-via-touchscreen/)

------
squarefoot
Before aiming to Mars, I would consider crowfunding two free tickets for a
trip on the Falcon to a couple high profile flat earthers.

~~~
BuyMyBitcoins
I’d pretend to be a sincere flat earther if there was a chance for a free
flight to space

------
fastball
[https://www.spacex.com/launches/](https://www.spacex.com/launches/)

Great graphics and timelines of the mission can be found here.

------
nerdbaggy
And right as the booster was landing on the ship the satellite feed cut out.

~~~
vlasev
That's quite normal. It happens on pretty much every launch to some extent.
Something to do with vibrations causes by the landing burn and directional
dishes

~~~
rrmm
They'll release the whole footage once they get it back from sea. I would also
like to see more video from inside the capsule too.

------
manaskarekar
What a moment in time! As usual, they make it look so effortless. Surprising
how the suits, simpler looking interiors and interfaces seem to be taking over
the old physical buttons and wires and what not. Hats off.

------
dmlittle
Does anyone know what happens to the 2nd stage engine? Does it stay in orbit
or does it eventually fall back to earth/go into space?

~~~
nyhc99
SpaceX was talking about trying to recover the 2nd stage back in 2018, Elon
suggested they would use a giant "party balloon" and land it on a "giant
bounce house." I haven't heard any talk of progress made since then.

[https://hackaday.com/2018/05/23/spacexs-next-giant-leap-
seco...](https://hackaday.com/2018/05/23/spacexs-next-giant-leap-second-stage-
recovery/)

~~~
efxhoy
They scrapped that idea last year afaik and are now focusing all efforts on
starship which will be fully reusable.

------
vondur
How cool is it that we have a live view of the space capsule?

------
_Microft
I think Hurley and Behnken wanted to announce a name for their Crew Dragon
spacecraft on launch day. Has anyone heard about this?

~~~
_Microft
In the media event from the capsule just moments ago, they named it
_Endeavour_.

------
ceocoder
Here is the livestream with Mission Control Audio/Video feed:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxCzpa07dvg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxCzpa07dvg)

------
ycombonator
How did SpaceX accelerate their development so fast ? What took NASA decades
to achieve in terms of high tech rocketry SpaceX achieved in less than half
the time. What are the factors ? The people Elon hired were ex NASA ? Where
did the working knowledge come from ?I don’t think I found the answer anywhere
on the internet.

~~~
aquajet
Read the Elon Musk biography by Ashlee Vance. It describes the early days of
spaceX. The short answer is incredibly hard effort.

------
PopeDotNinja
Can a SpaceX Crew Dragon launch from a non-SpaceX rocket? If NASA decides to
diversify, can they buy a Crew Dragon and stick it on an Atlas V or Delta IV?
It seems not.

The Wikipedia page for Crew Dragon says "The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon
9 Block 5 rocket and returns to Earth via an ocean splashdown." [1]

The Wikipedia page for Boeing Starliner says "It is designed to be compatible
with four launch vehicles: Atlas V, Delta IV, Falcon 9, and Vulcan." [2]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_2#Design](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_2#Design)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_CST-100_Starliner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_CST-100_Starliner)

~~~
yreg
They might need a dongle.

------
rammy1234
In times of covid and all other negativity this is inspiring to say.

------
nojvek
It blows my mind how SpaceX stared a decade ago and is making history, pushing
the edge and making science fiction come true.

And here I am fighting webpack to not take minutes to compile a bunch of js
files.

Everytime I watch SpaceX rockets fly, I ask myself “Am I wasting my life? Is
what I am doing even worth it?”

I hope we start a huge manufacture economy here that rivals the software
economy. We’ve gotta move from being mass consumers to sustainable and ultra-
efficient consumers.

~~~
lutorm
Actually, SpaceX was founded in 2002, so closer to two decades than one.

------
JoeAltmaier
Just watched the docking. Strangely when the module entered the shadow of the
station, the edge of the shadow was a gradient. I would have expected a knife-
sharp line. Is this because the camera resolution couldn't render it as a
sharp line? Other clear edges were visible in the image. Or is the station
somehow fuzzy around the edges? Does the module surface somehow soften the
shadow? Confused.

------
_sbrk
I watched the first shuttle launch as a child. I watched the tragedy of
Challenger in my school's gymnasium, and I watched STS-135, the last orbiter
mission, from a bridge in Florida.

This is a monumental day for our country.

------
8bitsrule
One of the first SF books I read as a young teen (and so don't recall the
title) was about the pilot of an asteroid-miner. I was already intrigued by
astronomy, and that got me interested in space travel. I don't really care
what the excuse is to go.

There's a lot of intense interest in that idea, and yet so far we've barely
gotten off the ground. Furthermore, unless some things change, our time window
for being able to do that is growing shorter. Without a re-focus, it may not
happen for a thousand years. And that'd be a shame. Dreams and stories that
don't fuel action are wasted.

Lots of old books talked about 'Conquering Space'. Looks like we need to
conquer ourselves first.

------
101404
Loved the SpaceX guy on handover to NASA: "... and thank you for flying on
Falcon today!"

Private space flight started with this flight.

~~~
avmich
> Private space flight started with this flight.

I hear Dennis Tito and Mike Melvill sighed.

~~~
101404
That was both on government capsules.

------
tnli
Not very Kerbal, good job and goodspeed!

~~~
dnautics
I secretly wanted an inset of the two astronauts faces in the lower right
corner.

------
zoomablemind
Noticed those big kneeboards atop astronauts suited knee, with some kind of
pen tethered to it, like good-old sign-in clipboards. The surface is white,
but does not seem to glow.

Is it real paper and pencil? Or some sort of e-ink tablet. iPad? Kinda bukly,
though...

Who needs a space-pen? Got a space-watch? :)

~~~
AlphaWeaver
That's paper, sitting on top of a traditional tablet with a glass screen
(maybe an iPad, maybe an Android tablet.) There's a pen or pencil kept in a
slot in the pack strapped to his leg underneath the tablet.

That's as much as I was able to gather from today and Wednesday's livestream.

------
standardUser
"American astronauts on American rockets from American soil on their way to
the International Space Station, our national lab"

The ISS is not "our national lab". The hint is in the name.

Also, glad we got the very important reminder that this is happening in
___AMERICA_ __

------
bambataa
So whatever happened to Virgin Galactic? I know they were planning a reusable
spaceship that would focus on tourism first. Was the plan just too complex in
comparison to the simpler capsule-on-a-rocket approach? Or do the economics
not stack up?

~~~
nabla9
Virgin Galactic is not going to orbit. They do suborbital spaceflights.

The difference in effort and energy required is roughly 1:10. They basically
just throw people high up so that they can say they have been space.

------
sigfubar
We just got back from watching the launch in person from Cocoa, FL. It seemed
as if ten thousand people have come out to watch the rocket climb up. Everyone
cheered hard, and spirits were unbelievably high despite traffic and rain.

------
sidcool
The fuckers did it! Congrats SpaceX and NASA.

------
MattGaiser
I was surprised at how quiet it was. Lacked the roar of the space shuttle.

------
runawaybottle
Anyone know how long it will actually take to get to the ISS?

~~~
tosh
[https://www.nasa.gov/specials/dm2/](https://www.nasa.gov/specials/dm2/)

> Lifting off from Launch Pad 39A atop a specially instrumented Falcon 9
> rocket, Crew Dragon will accelerate its two passengers to approximately
> 17,000 mph and put it on an intercept course with the International Space
> Station. Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control will verify the
> spacecraft is performing as intended by testing the environmental control
> system, the displays and control system and the maneuvering thrusters, among
> other things. In about 24 hours, Crew Dragon will be in position to
> rendezvous and dock with the space station.

~~~
elliekelly
Do they have to stay seated & buckled the whole 19 hours? Dare I ask how they
eat or go to the bathroom on the 19 hour trip?

~~~
jpindar
No, there's room for them to get "up" and take their suits off. Eating is no
problem, the food is basically MREs. There is a toilet.

~~~
phkahler
>> they could have anything that doesn't create crumbs

Would you get a reference to M&Ms? I know SpaceShip1 was 16 years ago now. How
time flies.

~~~
jpindar
Bitesize candies that melt in your mouth but not in your hand would be a good
choice. :)

------
joering2
Any idea why both Nasa and SpaceX feed both run on 720p max?

~~~
spike021
Wondering the same here. That plus Youtube compression artifacts made this a
teeny bit less enjoyable to watch.

------
greypowerOz
during pre launch in-cabin video, one crew member appeared to be "signing"
(spelling out stuff) with his left hand (?)

Does anyone have a back story on that?

------
Jormundir
It's raining on the launch pad right now. We'll be lucky if the launch
happens, but likely postponed to tomorrow's launch window.

~~~
agildehaus
According to the webcast, weather is expected to clear, so sounds promising so
far.

------
zoom6628
This mission bring to life, literally, "per ardura ad astra". Congratulations
to all from someone who gets tears in eyes everytime i see a rocket launch.
Its an amazing beautiful thing that goes beyond the science and engineering.
Safe journey guys and thank you to everyone that got your there and inspire
everyone from small kids to oldies like me.

------
caiobegotti
I have followed all the news about Dragon's development for a while but having
just watched the live tour of the internal area of the capsule... that was
just crazy. It currently has a 4 seat layout (despite supporting up to 7 IIRC)
and one of the guys performed a "backflip" in the free space. It's really
ridiculous.

------
didip
The thruster fire looked very cool. I cannot believe how accurate the landing
was.

------
pknerd
[https://www.n2yo.com/?s=45623](https://www.n2yo.com/?s=45623) to track the
current position of the crew dragon

------
skdotdan
I wonder whether Bezos is feeling envious (in the good sense of the word).
Wouldn't it be cool a new Space Race between SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing?

------
martythemaniak
The Moon and Mars will be Eath's R&D lab. That, plus nationalism, will be the
economic incentive which will drive the settlement of those places.

------
aquajet
How can new companies get involved in the space industry? It seems that the
largest problem right now is rocketry but that has a high initial cost

------
seesawtron
When was the last time humans were launched into space? It happens all the
time doesn't it? Astronauts going to ISS in shifts throughout the year.

------
NiceWayToDoIT
Same excitement and anticipation, fingers cross this time.

------
6d6b73
While it's a huge success. , really it should not be heralded as an private
space flight as most of it was payed for with government money.

------
ninjamayo
Well done SpaceX, this is a historic day. Next Starship!

------
ilrwbwrkhv
This is what makes America great. An immigrant making all this happen and I
think all this can happen only in America.

------
varjag
Why the MRAP though?

~~~
burfog
It replaces NASA's M113 armored personnel carrier, a tracked vehicle which
dates back to the Vietnam War. The fire crew sits in there for protection from
an exploding rocket. The vehicle is great for evacuating astronauts.

[https://www.nasa.gov/feature/mrap-rolls-through-pad-
evacuati...](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/mrap-rolls-through-pad-evacuation-
runs-0)

If you want the closest view of a launch without being in the rocket, get some
firefighting experience (preferably on an aircraft carrier or something of
similar hazard) and then ask your senator to recommend you as a qualified
guest firefighter.

~~~
varjag
OK, now that makes a lot more sense, thanks.

------
quijoteuniv
Awesome! Private rockets and now millonaries can go to space! It is indeed
very interesting how the russians milked the same cow so many times, the
propaganda maschine drove the nationalist spirit high, by launching the same
rocket over and over, first it was a dog, then the first man in orbit, then
first spacewalk, then the first woman in space. It was literally the same
launch over and over but it made people happy. :)

------
coldfinger
2nd attempt. Let's see how it goes.

~~~
vulcan01
I'm young enough for this to be my first time watching a crewed launch from
America... Hopefully this goes well.

~~~
phkahler
I'm both happy for you and sad. Its exciting, but 50 years ago people expected
this to become a normal thing. The excitement and the rarity shows how badly
we neglected space since then.

------
rossdavidh
Does anyone have a link to a video of the booster landing? I could only find a
still shot.

~~~
rst
Video from the barges regularly drops out when the booster actually lands,
most likely because vibration from the impact of the rocket exhaust messes
with the antennas. (The video is still stored on the barge, and sometimes
shows up in mission-review videos later; this one probably doesn't look all
that different from the past fifty or so.)

------
fcsp
> "our national lab orbiting Earth,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Is it though?

~~~
Rebelgecko
Yes. Because the Earth is so much more massive than the ISS, the Earth-ISS
barycenter is probably a nanometer at the most away from the Earth's own
center of mass. So even though technically it isn't true that the ISS is
orbiting the center of the Earth, it's close enough for government work (and
the barycenter is certainly inside the Earth)

------
agumonkey
How long until Musk lands a rocket on the moon vertically ?

------
fallingfrog
Way to go SpaceX engineers, you’ve done us proud!

------
gdy
Congrats from Russia! That was awesome.

------
ausbah
very inspirational stuff, really makes you think about the impact of your work
beyond a paycheck to some degree

------
xchip
If the astronauts had been women would you also have used the term "humans"?

------
BurningFrog
This headline is very speciesist.

It erases the ~200 trillion bacteria that were also launched!

------
randomsearch
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssss!

------
dirtylowprofile
Are there any black astronauts?

------
OctaviusCrassus
Thank you Elon Musk and Donald Trump!!!

------
deepideas
The title is misleading. NASA did it. SpaceX just built the rocket.

------
sytelus
Let's don't forget they have pulled this off during COVID times when supply
chains are under pressure, offices are closed, gathering is hard... If you can
put man in space during COVID, you can do anything. Hats off to you, again, Mr
Musk!

------
thePunisher
Congrats SpaceX! A job well done.

I assumed this launch would be uneventful since SpaceX has been flying
numerous missions to the ISS, and this one merely has people on it but is
basically business-as-usual for them.

~~~
cryptoz
I think they've been flying the cargo dragon missions with a full-atmosphere
pressure inside the capsule, just to prove that even if a person _had_ been in
there for a cargo launch they very well may have survived (at least, if they
had a chair I guess)

~~~
ygra
Didn't some of those missions had live cargo in mice form anyway, making an
atmosphere necessary? Only the trunk is unpressurized, AFAIK.

