Good news for us but bad news for others – the SpaceX manned launch has been pushed back. It’s now set for Saturday, May 30. This means we might get a chance to sneak over to the Space Coast for this historic event.

To tell you the truth, we can hardly wait. For us, watching a rocket launch always is fun for us. And this time it will be an historic page in the annals of the United States Space program.

We are excited for a couple of reasons. First. this will be the first such manned launch in nearly a decade. Second, even if we don’t make it to the coast, we will be able to see it from the end of our own driveway (weather permitting.)

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft has been lifted into place. (NASA photo)

We live in central Florida. That puts us a pretty good haul from the Kennedy Space Center – or even the beaches of the Space Coast. Because this originally was a mid-week event, it is not ideal for one of our little getaway jaunts.

That doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t like to go see the SpaceX manned launch. However, the timing – and to get into a huge crush of people at and around the launch site wasn’t made for us.

Viewing Points

That’s why we reached out to the folks at Visit Space Coast. Their site has great information about upcoming launches. We wanted to know if there were places that are a respectful distance from the launch pad where we could get a good view of the space shot should we decide to go.

The Space Coast

And let’s face it, The Space Coast is just a fun place to play. We have had a great time visiting Cocoa Beach and Melbourne. We’ve shopped in Historic Cocoa Village (home of Visit Space Coast). Additionally, we have enjoyed Eau Gallie, Satellite Beach, and Merritt Island among other places.

In addition to the miles of Space Coast beaches, there are great restaurants and points of interest to visit. It can make for a wonderful weekend while watching history being made. And for us, not getting caught up in the madding crowd would be a big plus.

To Launch or Not to Launch

One of our biggest drawbacks to booking a trip to see a launch is the uncertainty. Weather and a number of factors can cause a delay of hours, days or even weeks. That can take the blessed event right out of our vacation margin.

So the idea of going to a Space Coast destination just to have fun – with the lure of a rocket launch in that timeframe – makes more sense.

The Launch

We’ve read that this is to be ” a new era of human spaceflight,” American astronauts once again will be launched on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station. As we understand it, this all is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for an extended stay at the space station. It’s been dubbed the “Demo-2 Mission.”

NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are set to make history. (SpaceX photo)

Attending

As we said, we certainly would like to be there to see history being made. Plus, we really enjoy the Space Coast and all the area has to offer. From the Atlantic beaches to the great restaurants and wonderful shopping – it has become one of our favorite vacation spots.

Moreover, the hotels and motels we’ve found have made for great stays. In fact, we actually spent a couple of nights in a Cocoa Beach LaQuinta Inn that was built with the help of a half dozen US Astronauts.

We will let you know if we were able to sneak over to see the SpaceX manned launch…closer. If not, we will be watching from our driveway and recording it (weather permitting). And will post it here or on our social media pages. The one nice thing about being in-state tourists is that we will visit the Space Coast to see a launch – and soon.