Local businesses near Cape Canaveral are expecting a throng of people for Wednesday’s scheduled launch of the first manned rocket from U.S. soil to the International Space Station since the end of the Space Shuttle program despite NASA’s suggestion to hold “virtual” watch parties.
Time reported that local tourism officials expect 200,000 visitors to the Space Coast in and around the Titusville area, due east of Orlando and just north of Melbourne, despite some restrictions to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus still in place.
Astronauts Doug Hurley, who piloted the Atlantis shuttle, and Bob Behnken are set to blast off at 4:32 p.m. EDT aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule atop its Falcon 9 rocket.
They are the first Americans to be launched from Cape Canaveral since Hurley and three others took off in Atlantis on July 8, 2011.
Despite coronavirus restrictions, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey says he’s not going to be strict about their enforcement.
If people are comfortable about watching from locations near Cape Canaverl, “by all means, come,” Ivey told Time. “If they aren’t, I respect that too.”
“I’m not going to tell Americans they can’t watch a great piece of history. I’m just not going to do it.”
While wanting to promote the launch but also discourage people from attending it, NASA is offering streaming of the launch on its website.
“The challenge that we’re up against right now is we want to keep everybody safe,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. “And so we’re asking people not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center, and I will tell you that makes me sad to even say it. Boy, I wish we could make this into something really spectacular.”
Orlando, Florida, CBS affiliate WKMG TV reported that a bed and breakfast in nearby Titusville was booked solid for Tuesday night, with a minimum of a two-night stay, while some were booked through the weekend in case the launch was postponed until Saturday.
"It's way past time for us to put our own people into space again and I'm excited about that," said Ginny Fitzpatrick, owner of Casa Coquina Bed and Breakfast.
The United States has relied on Russia for the past nine years to launch and return American astronauts to and from the ISS.
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