It's super foggy. Been a while since we've had a west coast launch.

Well, this has kind of been shit for visuals, but meh, it's a launch.

Looked like a Halloween launch.

Just a reminder that Inspiration 4 launch is tomorrow. Two more episodes of Countdown are up on Netflix for pregame.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete – targeting Wednesday, September 15 for launch of Dragon’s first all-civilian human spaceflight. The 5-hour launch window opens at 8:02 p.m. EDT</p>— SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1437311859405754369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dragon’s first all-civilian crew <a href="https://t.co/bJFjLCilmc">https://t.co/bJFjLCilmc</a> <a href="https://t.co/BefnuerQa2">pic.twitter.com/BefnuerQa2</a></p>— SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1437655327307087875?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">All systems and weather are looking good for today’s Falcon 9 launch of Dragon’s first all-civilian spaceflight. Webcast will go live ~4 hours before liftoff <a href="https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK">https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK</a> <a href="https://t.co/kkSiWcv6qc">pic.twitter.com/kkSiWcv6qc</a></p>&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1438190808599969796?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A look at the &quot;cupola&quot; window that SpaceX created for this mission, which replaced the docking hatch under the nosecone of Crew Dragon:<a href="https://t.co/2H1uPXOL52">https://t.co/2H1uPXOL52</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SpaceX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SpaceX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Inspiration4?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Inspiration4</a> <a href="https://t.co/YovYJvIqem">pic.twitter.com/YovYJvIqem</a></p>&mdash; Michael Sheetz (@thesheetztweetz) <a href="https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1438245044801179650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

For those with a couple of hours to spare before launch:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3pv01sSq44w" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is so cool. How much training did these People have to go thru?

He a much did they each pay to get on board?

No pilots? Did these modern space craft fly themselves?

Watch the documentary on Netflix. They did quite a bit, but obviously not anywhere near the level that a NASA astronaut would get.

It's all being paid for by Jared Issacman. They picked the other three to represent other "pillars," including Hope (cancer survivor), Generosity (donor to St. Jude who was randomly selected from all donors), and Prosperity (small business owner who also happens to be a space geek). Jared himself is "Leadership".

Pretty much. They do need to be able to take over in an emergency, but Dragon is designed to be autonomous.

Thanks (think it was you) who mentioned the Netflix series. I watched them all last night. My logic tells me that I shouldn't be more anxious with a civilian crew than professionals, but I am. And that series made it worse.

Thanks!!!

How long until launch?

There's no question that the stakes are high on this one. With astronauts, you know they at least signed up for it as a career. It's Jared's idea. Sian has dreamed of it her whole life. I feel like they know what they are in for.

But Haley and Christopher both basically got pulled out of a pile of names. Haleys' mom recently lost her husband. Christopher has a family and kids. Suffice it to say, that would be really tough for them.

I'm confident that SpaceX is as safe as anyone, but as Elon would say, the "pucker factor" is high.

8:02pm Eastern

Probably worth noting that they have a 5-hour launch window today. Super weird for a manned launch, but when you're just aiming for a general orbit, I guess time isn't particularly critical.