BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Locals and tourists are flocking to the Space Coast in anticipation of a historic early-morning liftoff Saturday.
On Thursday, SpaceX rolled out to Launch Pad 39A a new Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon space capsule.
The Crew Dragon test flight, scheduled for 2:49 a.m., is NASA's first step this year in returning Americans to space on American rockets.
SpaceX and @NASA have completed thousands of hours of tests, analyses, and reviews in preparation for Crew Dragon’s first test flight to the @space_station pic.twitter.com/JvJqeoLKVy
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 28, 2019
Like all major rocket launches, SpaceX's Demo-1 will attract large crowds to the coast.
Jack Barnello plans to watch the launch in Titusville.
"It's so inspiring, wanting to go to the moon or Mars," Barnello, of New York, said.
Another space tourist from Wisconsin said he'll watch the launch from the balcony of his Cocoa Beach hotel room.
"We're going to go to sleep, set the alarm, wake up, watch it. Take a little pride in America and move forward. Probably, take another nap," Terry Beuthling said with a laugh.
Beuthling watched the first shuttle mission, STS-1, in 1981.
Ray Staples said he's visiting Brevard County from St. Louis because he remembers watching astronauts launch into space when he was a kid in the 1960s.
"I'm in awe of it. I love all of it," Staples said. "I'm looking forward to it. I got to see one last year. Now, I'm down here another year, and there's another launch right now and I'm very excited about it."
Autumn Maroldt said she's visiting from Pennsylvania.
"Well, his mom said that the sky, like, lights up and everything, so pretty exciting," Maroldt said.
The Crew Dragon looks to become the first human-rated spaceship to fly from Florida since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.
Two dozen tourists who have a room at Casa Coquina in Titusville can watch the launch out their window or from the bed and breakfast's balcony overlooking the Kennedy Space Center.
Hotel staff said the launch will attract guests from around the world.
"From Denmark to Egypt, all over the place," employee Tina Rider said. "You have to make sure you're staying somewhere nice or get there very early. Some people will stay there overnight just so they can see the launch."
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex also sold VIP viewing tickets for the maiden voyage of the Crew Dragon capsule.
The visitor complex offered two Demo-1 launch-viewing packages that included extra perks such as SpaceX merchandise, Jumbotron viewing and food.
Tickets were still available Thursday evening, according to kennedyspacecenter.com.