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'Groundhog Day happened again': Astronaut Doug Hurley's family prepare for another launch

Katie Sullivan Borrelli
Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

It was a unique experience for astronaut Doug Hurley's family Wednesday afternoon, sitting with only about 30 other people on tall bleachers built to hold hundreds at Kennedy Space Center's Banana Creek Launch Viewing Area in Florida.

But then there were moments that felt all too familiar.

Like when Hurley's sister-in-law, Jolene Hurley, saw a lightning bolt overhead. Or when Hurley's brother, Dean, recognized the tone in the launch director's voice.

"Oh no," he thought. "Here we go."

Due to thunderclouds and a risk of lightning,  Hurley and fellow veteran astronaut Bob Behnken had to stand down from their 4:33 p.m. launch from pad 39A, a mission that would have taken their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station after a nearly decade-long hiatus in American crewed flight.

The former space shuttle astronauts went through the paces for their mission, including a traditional breakfast of steak and eggs, suit-up at the historic Operations and Checkout Building, and a 20-minute ride to pad 39A in two Tesla SUVs.

Then the call came, with less than 17 minutes to go in the countdown: There would be no launch today.

"As we say, Groundhog Day happened again," Dean Hurley said.

SpaceX eyes Saturday launch date after scrub

In 2009, Hurley's first Space Shuttle mission was scrubbed five times — three for weather-related concerns — before it finally launched.

The next opportunity to launch will be 3:22 p.m. Saturday, followed by another window at 3 p.m. Sunday. The latest weather forecast issued by the U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing predicts a 60% chance of weather violations for the backup launch dates on Saturday and Sunday. The Hurleys have been told Wednesday, June 3, is also a possibility.

NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley, left, and Robert Behnken wave as they walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on their way to Pad 39-A, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, May 27, 2020. The two astronauts will fly on a SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. For the first time in nearly a decade, astronauts will blast into orbit aboard an American rocket from American soil, a first for a private company.

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Falcon 9 has to launch at exactly the specified time for ISS missions. As the space station slingshots around Earth at 17,000 mph some 250 miles in orbit, the rocket has to help the capsule achieve a precise intercept trajectory. A delay would mean it couldn't catch up.

'Even though he's 53, he's my baby'

For the extended Hurley family, who only a few weeks ago learned they'd been approved to view the launch in person from Kennedy, the schedule change has meant cancelling return flights home, extending arrangements with their jobs and scrambling to secure a few more days' stay at their Florida Airbnb.

"We'll be here till Thursday," Dean said, "because I don't know if I could forgive myself if I left."

The Hurleys have watched Doug launch into space twice before, but the moment never loses its weight. Especially now that Dean and Jolene's children, 16-year-old Jaylin and 12-year-old Ridge, and Doug's 10-year-old son, Jack, are old enough to participate in it.

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Riding in a bus to the viewing area about an hour before the anticipated launch time Wednesday, Jolene pulled up NASA's live stream coverage on her phone just in time to see her nephew press his hand against the window of the Tesla vehicle carrying Doug to the launch pad.

She teared up. So did everyone around her.

Later in the ride Doug's mother, Sherry Hurley, turned to her and said, "Even though he’s 53, he’s my baby."

"Strapping him on top of a million-pound rocket with fuel in it can be a little unsettling for any mom," Jolene said.

NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley, left, and Robert Behnken wave as they leave the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on their way to Pad 39-A, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, May 27, 2020. The two astronauts will fly on a SpaceX test flight to the International Space Station. For the first time in nearly a decade, astronauts will blast into orbit aboard an American rocket from American soil, a first for a private company. in the foreground at Vice President Mike Pence, NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk.

Hurley's ground crew ready for launch

In a May 1 press conference, Doug Hurley intimated this mission might be his last.

"I’ve been an astronaut now for almost 20 years and for me my success is completely focused on successfully completing this mission with Bob," he said. "After that, there are a whole host of folks who are capable of going to the moon, I almost want to be their cheerleader at this point." 

Karen Nyberg and son share a moment with husband Astronaut Doug Hurley before he boards to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft attached from launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on May 27, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be aboard the May 27th inaugural flight and will be the first people since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 to be launched into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

In the meantime, the Hurley family have enjoyed being his cheerleaders. Jaylin has her eye on a souvenir SpaceX traffic cone and Ridge, in spite of the scrub on Wednesday, told his parents, "This was the best day. It was so cool."

Maybe Falcon 9 will launch Saturday. Maybe not. 

Whenever it happens, Hurley's family will be there to cheer him on.

USA TODAY Network reporters Emre Kelly and Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon contributed to this report.