Crowds on the beach at Cheri Down Park in Cape Canaveral wait for the launch before hearing the launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators who gathered on A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Fla., hoping to see the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade, start the walk back to their vehicles after the launch was scrubbed.
A thunderstorm moves over the Kennedy Space Center Wednesday afternoon. Launch of a SpaceX rocket with astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley bound for the International Space Station was scrubbed due to wether. Mandatory Credit: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK
Some kids made the best of the rain flooded areas of Space View Park. Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Crowds on the beach at Cheri Down Park in Cape Canaveral wait for the launch before hearing the launch was scrubbed.
A SpaceX Falcon remains on pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, FL Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Launch of the rocket carrying astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station, was cancelled due to weather. Mandatory Credit: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK
Crowds on the beach at Cheri Down Park in Cape Canaveral wait for the launch before hearing the launch was scrubbed.
People with tents and canopies braved the rain in Cape Canaveral waiting for the launch.
A few die-hards stayed on the beach in north Cape Canaveral in the rainstorms and lightning.
Firefighters respond to a minor car fire at Kelly Park.
Vehicles lined the roadway approaching the bridge at the Banana River Drive exit on State Road 528.
Traffic was at a crawl along State Road 528.
The parking lot was packed at Kelly Park.
Cars drive in the pouring rain past scale model space shuttle in front of the American Space Museum and Space Walk of Fame.
Spectators brave a midday thunderstorm at Space View Park in Titusville as they await the planned 4:33 p.m. launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon with American astronauts.
Ginger the dog is ready to view the launch. She is at Nichol Park in Port St. John.
As the sun comes out, employees at Rusty’s in Port Canaveral begin drying off outdoor tables. The inside dining area is at capacity. Visiting media have set up shop on the deck.
Patricia Gottenger (left) and Nelly Marott, both from Venezuela, are ready for the launch at Space View Park in Titusville
14-year-old twins Berlin and Ella Shields arrive at Nicol Park in Port St. John to watch the launch.
As the sun comes out, employees at Rusty’s in Port Canaveral begin drying off outdoor tables. The inside dining area is at capacity. Visiting media have set up shop on the deck.
As the sun comes out, employees at Rusty’s in Port Canaveral begin drying off outdoor tables. The inside dining area is at capacity. Visiting media have set up shop on the deck.
As the sun comes out, employees at Rusty’s in Port Canaveral begin drying off outdoor tables. The inside dining area is at capacity. Visiting media have set up shop on the deck.
As the sun comes out, employees at Rusty’s in Port Canaveral begin drying off outdoor tables. The inside dining area is at capacity. Visiting media have set up shop on the deck.
The mascot for the Reel Pit Bar-B-Que food truck was dressed in an astronaut costume off U.S. 1 in Titusville.
People line up at an ice cream truck at Space View Park in Titusville as vendors make the most of the crowds on launch day.
Crowds of spectators and media began arriving at Space View Park in Titusville ahead of Wednesday’s planned launch of astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon.
The crowd for the SpaceX launch in Titusville on Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
The crowd for the SpaceX launch in Titusville on Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
Traffic backed up oil Ridgewood Ave. in Cape Canaveral as everyone left the beach after the launch was scrubbed on Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
The crowd for the SpaceX launch in Titusville on Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered on A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville hoping to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade, start the walk back to theor vehicles after the launch was scrubbed.
Some kids made the best of the rain flooded areas of Space View Park. Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Huge crowds of SpaceX spectators gathered at A. Max Brewer Bridge and nearby areas of Titusville in hopes to see first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The launch was scrubbed.
Spectators gathering before noon at Nicol park in Port St. John hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Spectators gathering before noon at Nicol park in Port St. John hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Spectators gathering before noon at Nicol park in Port St. John hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Twin sisters Berlin and Ella Shields arrive in patriotic style. Spectators gathering before noon at Nicol Park in Port St. John to watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and two Crew Dragon capsule launched from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A first.
Spectators gathering before noon at Nicol park in Port St. John to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and two Crew Dragon capsule launched from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A just after 4:30pm, sending two astronauts to the International Space Station.
Laura and Jason Bonell and their dog, Ginger set up early. Spectators gathering before noon at Nicol Park in Port St. John hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Spectators gathering before noon at Nicol Park in Port St. John hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Spectators gathering before noon at Nicol Park in Port St. John hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Spectators along the Titusville shoreline in the heavy rain hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Heavy rains hit the area in early afternoon. SpaceX spectators along the Titusville shoreline hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Heavy rains Titusville while spectators to watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and two Crew Dragon capsule launch from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A.
The mascot for a food truck was dressed as an astronaut, waving to motorists and along the Titusville shoreline to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Spectators in the downpour along the Titusville shoreline hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Spectators along the Titusville shoreline to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
Spectators along the Titusville shoreline to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
The Titusville shoreline was packed with vehicles hoping to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
SpaceX spectators take shelter along the Titusville shoreline to watch the first U.S. crewed mission in almost a decade.
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.
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 nearby Titusville, roadways, side streets and front yards across the Space Coast.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey told people this month to come watch the scheduled launch in person. The invitation ran contrary to NASA’s recommendation to watch the launch via broadcast.
Crowds, along with heavy rain, poured into coveted viewing spots across Brevard, but the mission was postponed scant minutes before the scheduled 4:33 p.m. launch.
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?” Jake Mills asked after hearing 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?” said 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,” he said.
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.
Still, by early afternoon, traffic was blocked on the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville. The bridge grew more crowded prelaunch 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.
At Cocoa Beach Pier, which was no more packed than on a sunny, pre-pandemic weekend, the few hundred 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, cameras pointed north 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.
‘We didn’t want to miss it’
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, 23, a self-described Elon Musk fan, arrived Tuesday night from St. Petersburg.
Bill and Robbin Dick of The Villages in central Florida 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 and 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.”
Contributing: Rick Neale, Eric Rogers, Suzy Leonard, Tim Walters, John Torres, Tim Shortt, Craig Bailey, Malcolm Denemark and Jay Cannon of the USA TODAY Network.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump tour the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump tour the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
Air Force One prepares to depart Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump tour the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump tour the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence autograph a piece of hardware at the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump arrive at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump arrive at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump tour the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump tour the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump along with First Lady Melania Trump arrive at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump tours the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
Elan Musk during a tour with President Donald Trump at the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump tours the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence tour the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
President Donald Trump tours the Orion Capsule Room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, Wednesday, May 27, 2020.
Harry Miller is a writer and editor based in Toronto who has Ten years of experience in the journalism industry. Before coming to Canada News Media as a National Online Journalist, Miller worked as a senior writer and a reporter-editor with the Canadian Press and a breaking news reporter with the Toronto Star.
Miller currently holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in journalism from Ryerson University and another in communications and film studies from Carleton University.
