CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The crowd launched early, even though the SpaceX Crew Dragon didn’t rise from Pad 39A as scheduled.
Space Coast locals and visitors from hundreds of miles away stayed through the drizzle and the downpours — even a tornado warning — before the eventual scrub of the first crewed launch from U.S. soil since 2011, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
People hungry to watch history in the making — and perhaps eager to get out of COVID-19-forced isolation — made their way to Cocoa Beach, Space View Park in Titusville and roadways, side streets and front yards across the Space Coast.
Crowds, along with heavy rain, poured into coveted viewing spots across Brevard before the eventual scrub of the mission scant minutes before the scheduled 4:33 p.m. launch.
And even after word dropped that the launch was a no-go, many made plans to return for the next attempt, set for Saturday.
"Do you guys want to get a hotel room for Saturday night?” That was the question from Jake Mills, who had just heard the scrub announcement on his phone via the SpaceX YouTube channel. The Gainesville network engineer and 10 relatives had traveled to the Cocoa Beach Pier to watch the launch.
“Bummed out. But safety first, right?” asked Mills, who has friends who work for SpaceX. “I would rather wait until Saturday for a healthy, safe launch than to bend the rules and launch unsafely."
Not many masks were sighted among the onlookers. Crowds were far smaller than for high-profile launches of the past and between the COVID-19 crisis and bad weather, nowhere near the crowd estimates circulating for weeks. NASA had urged spectators to stay away and watch the launch online or on TV because of the pandemic.
Matt Ward and Emma O’Halloran, of Orlando, parked next to the Beachline around 7:30. People started showing up at dawn to view the launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station.
Still, by early afternoon, traffic was blocked on the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville. The bridge grew more crowded pre-launch time and became a sea of thousands of pedestrians headed west after the scrub. The Beachline causeway over the Banana River heading east or west was like a wet parking lot by late afternoon, ahead of the scheduled 4:33 p.m. launch time.
And while the crowd of a few hundred at Cocoa Beach Pier wasn't heavy — the beach was no more packed than on a sunny, pre-pandemic weekend — those who braved nasty storms were primed for the event.
Before 10 a.m., surfers were catching waves and TV crews had positioned their equipment at Rikki Tiki Tavern at the end of the pier, with cameras pointed northward toward the launch site.
The pier opened at 11 a.m., and a handful of lunchtime patrons filtered in. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic was evident: Officials shut down the pier from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. to clean and sanitize the area.
About 90 minutes before the scheduled launch time, Gulf Coast resident Olga Cole and her family took refuge beneath the Cocoa Beach Pier during a downpour.
She was born and raised in Moldova, an Eastern European nation that declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. She was raised to revere cosmonauts — but wore a white NASA shirt to witness the historic American launch.
“Because of the past of my country, the USSR, we prize the cosmonauts. But it is a big deal,” the 24-year-old said, holding her 7-month-old daughter, Katherine.
“Space is common for everyone."
Olga and her husband, John Cole — a 23-year-old self-described Elon Musk fan — arrived Tuesday night from St. Petersburg.
“It was really interesting that we’ve been launching in collaboration with Russia,” John Cole said. “No matter what political tensions have been happening, it’s really cool seeing space be that peaceful frontier where there’s no hostility.”
Others staked claims to their viewing sites early, willing to get up early and pay to have a stellar spot.
Bill and Robbin Dick of The Villages paid $40 for two spaces to park their 35-foot Winnebago Sunstar motor home at the pier. By 9 a.m., the couple had extended the vehicle's awning and set up folding chairs, prepped to watch NASA's launch coverage on TV.
"It's a historic launch. We're retired. And these are things we want to do. We didn't want to miss it," said Bill Dick, a retired New York City firefighter.
At Port Canaveral, diners began trickling into Rusty's Seafood & Oyster Bar just before noon. At 50% capacity, the restaurant holds about 150 people.
"We're bringing in business, definitely, but it's not what we'd like to bring in." said Rusty Fisher, owner. "Just managing people, that's the big thing, making sure they behave themselves."
Cathy and John Mayes and their daughter Meghan of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, drove all night to get to the Space Coast in time for the launch.
"Just to have it postponed,” Cathy said with a good-natured shrug.
“But we knew that was a possibility,” John said.
The family has a timeshare in Indialantic, and has spent time in Brevard County for several years.
Even though they missed the launch, it won’t be a wasted trip, Cathy and Meghan said: Meghan will be heading to graduate school in Kansas City, Missouri, to study opera in the fall, and the Space Coast adventure will serve as “one last mother-daughter beach bonding trip” before she goes.
Despite the dreary weather in Indialantic, resident Loren Goldfarb made plans to head to the beach as launch time drew near, but that fell through.
Having witnessed a shuttle launch up close, Goldfarb is well aware of the historic significance of the Crew Dragon’s mission, and what puts the “Space” in “Space Coast.”
No doubt he'll be there when the launch eventually happens. And he'll keep the astronauts in his prayers before, during and after liftoff.
“As I stand on the beach in Indialantic surrounded by neighbors and friends, we are all going to be praying for the same thing: a successful launch and safe return,” Goldfarb said.