Nerd Pride Radio

In about 4 or 5 hours, we're going to launch astronauts from american soil, into orbit, for the first time in 9 years! Is anyone else stoked about this?

Hell yes!

I'm hoping to watch the launch. We need this. I'm hoping it goes flawlessly and the reduction in launch costs means a more vigorous US space program.

Getting people excited about space again would also be cool

I'm watching the livestream right now, and one of the things that's amazing is how sleek and high tech the controls look: touch screens and a much smaller amount of displays and buttons and switches than the Shuttle. Which, i mean, it's 2020, not 1979. But, dang, that's a big deal.

Love the miracle of solid-state...much more reliable, maybe zero moving parts...

One (maybe the only) downside: if it fails, there's only system redundancy to save you...no more cobbling together a solution from spare parts.

The launch was awesome, the docking was awesome, and I'm super excited because I got to take my youngest kid outside and watch the space station fly across the sky one evening. We could not believe how large it looks, how bright - I was thinking it might be difficult to identify, but not at all. So cool!

I've still got butteflies in my stomach until Bob and Doug get back(Chris too, for that matta!). But this looks like a bright new opportunity, allowing more science to be collected from the ISS for the last few years of it's lifespan.