I' buying TLSA this week just because elon is just so far ahead of everybody on EVERYTHING he does!

Did you hear him when the big one went up?

"No ****ing way!"

SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule for next NASA astronaut launch arrives in Florida

https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-1-...s-florida.html

SpaceX is forging ahead with preparations for its next NASA astronaut mission, currently slated for a late October launch.

The Crew Dragon capsule that will launch the Crew-1 flight to the International Space Station arrived in Florida on Tuesday (Aug. 18), NASA officials said in an update Friday (Aug. 21).

The exact quote from the first Falcon Heavy launch was:

"Holy flying ****, that thing took off."

LMAO

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zK6FSK98asc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PuBb_MeWdsc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Starship SN6 is now into the business end of its initial test campaign, with a Static Fire test with her Raptor (SN29) engine conducted on Sunday, ahead of a hop test at the end of the week.

While SN6 is out at the launch site, numerous Starships are being worked on at the Production Facility, with SN5 undergoing post-hop processing, SN7.1 – a test tank – being prepared for an over-pressure test, along with SN8 stacking in the Mid Bay and SN9’s first sections also appearing out in the open.

As NASASpaceflight.com reported last year, Saocom 1B will take off and fly on a polar trajectory toward the South Pole. After launch, the Falcon 9 will skirt the coast of Florida, making it possible to attempt the ground pad landing. This will mark the first orbital launch from Florida to use this southern polar corridor since 1960.

The SpaceX launch of the companion satellite Saocom 1A in 2018 also featured a ground pad landing, but at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. This Thursday's launch was also initially set to take place from the West Coast, but eventually was moved to Florida and delayed thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liftoff is currently set for 4:19 p.m. PT Friday, after being pushed back a day from Thursday due to other delays at Kennedy Space Center.

There's also a ULA Delta IV launch tonight (I think):

https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/26/2...-44-watch-live

3 launches from the Cape between now and Sunday. That is amazing and awesomely cool!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pending Range availability, targeting back-to-back Falcon 9 launches from Florida on Sunday, August 30—another flight of Starlink from LC-39A at 10:12 a.m. EDT followed by the SAOCOM 1B mission from SLC-40 at 7:18 p.m. EDT <a href="https://t.co/uV9MN2Nq2X">pic.twitter.com/uV9MN2Nq2X</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1299456107170033664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Standing down from today’s launch of Starlink due to inclement weather during pre-flight operations. Next launch opportunity is Tuesday, September 1 at 9:29 a.m. EDT, pending Range acceptance</p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1300037857793290243?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

10:18am EDT Starlink mission delayed.

Maybe we'll get one launch today. Having two in one day would have been epic!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Targeting launch of SAOCOM 1B at 7:18 p.m. EDT tonight. Falcon 9 and SAOCOM 1B are vertical on SLC-40. Weather continues to be 40% favorable for liftoff <a href="https://t.co/jCIYnIc8Ju">pic.twitter.com/jCIYnIc8Ju</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1300038419108605953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

What needs to happen to make launches as reliable as air travel, where only severe storms delay or cancel flights?

Commercial flights get delayed and canceled all the time over mechanical issues.

I haven’t looked up numbers, but it seems that the likelihood of a commercial flight being significantly delayed is much lower than for a launch.

You said "air travel, where only severe storms delay or cancel flights." So, the only isn't accurate. They do have mechanical delays and cancellations.

I'd imagine that on a per flight basis, rockets are much more prone to mechanical delays.

Particularly ULA...