The two rockets landing gave me goosebumps. I haven't seen anything as spectacular since the SR-71 paid us a visit in the late 1980s. 

6 minutes ago, simmerhead said:

The two rockets landing gave me goosebumps. I haven't seen anything as spectacular since the SR-71 paid us a visit in the late 1980s. 

God, I will NEVER forget witnessing the Blackbird streak across the Berkshire skies when it visited Greenham Common (EGVI) in the 80's. My aviation obsession was born in those skies that afternoon.

13 hours ago, Adrian123 said:

Though as amazing as the launch was, the landing of those boosters just blows my mind. Hard to get a grasp on that. Like a science fiction movie. And Starman was cool!

Exactly! 

With the delayed launch I was able to watch live over my lunch hour which was an unexpected treat.  Great stuff!  A couple of weeks ago I'd gone out to the Kennedy Space Center while visiting relatives in FL.  On the bus tour I got to see the launch vehicle on the pad so I was particularly anxious to see this one go up having seen it relatively up close and personal - we were at launch pad 39B with the Falcon Heavy at 39A.  It's still no Saturn V, but it IS impressive nevertheless.

Pity about the core, but yeah... watching those boosters land side-by-side was goose bump stuff!  Sooo glad to see a renewed interest and investment in space!  I read where locals around places like Cocoa Beach said they had the largest crowds since the final Shuttle launch.

 

Scott

18 hours ago, jabloomf1230 said:

I happened to be home and watched it live. It was pretty exciting. Don't forget. Don't panic!

Did anyone remember to pack a towel?

21 minutes ago, n4gix said:

Did anyone remember to pack a towel?

Yes, they also put a copy of the book in the glove compartment...

DJ

I work at a major aerospace company (that does put stuff into space), and had the pleasure to watch the live feed at work with a few authentic rocket scientists.  We all experienced elation and blown minds watching the successful landing of the booster motors at the launch pad.  The consensus in the room was two fold: work hard enough, accept the risks and it will be accomplished, and dang...why am I stuck working here?

20 hours ago, Jim Young said:

I don't think they lost the center core rocket yet.  It was going to land on an ocean platform and heard cameras might have not been able to record the event (maybe later).  Still an awesome achievement!

Jim,

         I saw just a little of the press conference after the launch. Musk said that the core booster ran out of fuel and hit the ocean at about 300 mph. They weren't planning on using that booster again anyhow. Really amazing to see.

He mentioned that if they were forced to lose one of the boosters, the centre core would be the one. That's because the control fins on the strap on boosters were a new type made of titanium.....and extremely expensive

21 hours ago, Jim Young said:

Here's a live stream of the Astronaut sitting in the Tesla with various views streaming live.  It may not look live but it is.  The Tesla is on its way to Mars!

 

Jim

That live feed is really choppy and kills my frame rate. Can't Space X release an update or hot fix so that we can watch it on todays computers and not have to wait for Nvidia and LM to catch up?? I mean they are going to mars. Anyone with a tweak? One disappointment after the other!! LOL

Hope they have some good windscreen cover on their insurance when the Tesla gets to the asteroid belt. Risk of stone chips/cracks could be quite high! 

Here's an amateur feed of the booster landings from a little ways away. Gives you a better sense of the speed of those things on their approach...

 

 

I am very excited about this, and like others have said, I got goose bumps when the 2 boosters landed side by side.  Reality straight out of a sci-fi movie for sure.  At my age (59) I never imagined I would ever see such a thing!

One curious observation.  In the Starman / Tesla pictures and video, why don't we see stars in the background?

Thanks for any insight!

-WB

PS to greggerm - thanks for sharing that video!!!

Stars are way too faint to be seen with a camera exposure setting that enables you to see the StarMan, car and Earth properly.

That's what gets all the moon landing hoaxers in a froth... Where are the stars?