SN11's Launch.  In the fog.

Road closure of Highway 4 through SpaceX was set for 7:00am.  There are a number of steps between Road Closure and Launch, any of which can cause delays and resets.  Weather was garbage when I went to bed.  I set the alarm for 7:00am (two hour time zone shift).

The alarm wakes me.  The weather is garbage, I get ready but don't expect a launch, so I'm kind of moseying about...

I look forward to hanging out at the jetty with the SpaceX Fans: my people!   (My son would argue that I look forward to hanging with pretty much anyone, but, really, if I have a people it would be volleyball-playing Gators space fanatics).

I get down there perhaps at 7:50a. Whereas yesterday the parking lot was empty, now it's almost full.  I get a spot facing the action. 

It's still completely socked in.  No way they're launching anytime soon.  I walk around, soaking in the atmosphere.  I'll set up the gear later.  "T-2:00!" echoes left and right.  "What?!"

Zero visibility.  Just the SpaceX feed audio.

Once the three Raptors light up, that's all you hear.

Here's the 16-second executive summary:

The harmonic beats of the three Raptors are impressive.  A unique sound.  An impressive sound.  An immersive sound.

There was a bit of a scrap online about the FAA getting ultraconservative (Monday's launch was scrubbed because the FAA-required inspector was not on site).  The roar of three Raptors made me appreciate at least a little conservatism in safety oversight.  Twenty-eight Raptors on a Full Stack will be like the Roar of God.   

I'm used to launches heading east away from land, away from us, NOT straight up.  I'm used to the sound diminishing off to the side, not diminishing UP.  

The beating roar and the fact that it's going up and not up AND AWAY is bone-chilling.

The sound lessens.  Dropping to two Raptors lessens it further.  Then down to one.  It's at 10,000 ft Straight Up (!), slowing to a hover.  It's audible but still totally invisible.  

Eventually they shut down the last Raptor and it starts its descent.  We think. We can't see, but we think physics works in the fog.

The SpaceX narration from the phones and car stereos is inaudible, the sky is silent and featureless.  

It's like everyone's WiFi shut down and we're wandering around dumb.

Eventually we hear a Raptor startup and then an immediate boom - much quieter than launch, though.

It was clear that they never got a proper relight.

We hear a lot of "FTS" (Flight Termination System) and "They blew it up", but it was a several minutes before YouTube confirmed that it was in pieces before it hit the ground.  A long time before we got further details.

Still nothing but fog.

Even without seeing ANYTHING, It was a moving resonating experience. Even without really talking to anyone before or after. 

I had a 22-hour solo drive back to San Diego.  I didn't linger.  I was on the road home in 15 minutes.