A Space Nerd's Happy Place

Not unlike most coastal venues, our present RV location is windy during the afternoon, but thankfully the mornings have been still with some incredible sunrises. We usually will sit outside drinking our coffee, do our devotions and take in the view across the Banana River at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base to the east. The river is the habitat for manatees right now and a variety of birds like pelicans, egrets and herons.

The red arrow on the map below indicates the location of the KARS RV Park where we are staying until March 11. Looking north we have an unobstructed view of the Launch Complex, including Pad 39A or 40 where the SpaceX Falcon 9 launches. We were able to view the Leap Day launch of the Starlink 6-40 mission as they added another 23 Starlink Version 2 Mini satellites to the growing low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 occurred at 10:30 a.m. EST on February 29. This was a last minute SpaceX Starlink launch from Florida’s Space Coast because the astronaut launch was postponed due to weather.

We're hoping the Dragon 8 crew flight happens while we are still here. Due to the weather conditions, the flight has now been delayed until March 2nd or 3rd. The latest news as of this writing was from the Spaceflight Now website. "A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft on the program’s 13th flight with astronauts. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster will return to land at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin will launch on a Crew Dragon spacecraft to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon will return to a splashdown at sea off the coast of Florida. This has been delayed from Feb. 22, 28 and Mar. 1."

Based on the weather data sites I am monitoring however, the rescheduled launch day and time is not looking very promising. Monday 3rd or 4th and Friday, March 8 appear to be the most favorable weather conditions.

Karen just passed the four week mark since her surgery and is doing remarkably well. She is only using a cane when we go for a walk around the park. The only medications she is taking is Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or Ibuprofen (Advil) to manage the residual pain. There you have it... our current update as we continue relaxing here on the "Space Coast" of Florida while living the RV life one day at a time.