SpaceX and NASA complete historic launch successfully

Weather was always going to be a toss up today. And it's still more than two hours until liftoff time, but the patchy blue skies were just taken over by storm clouds.

It hasn't made it to the press site quite yet, but film crews say it's already down-pouring at the launch pad.

"The weather is still iffy," launch officials said around 1:15 pm.

On the ride to the launch pad, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley enjoyed a handpicked playlists. Among the selections: AC/DC's "Back in Black," Brazilian jazz song "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema"), and the Army's French horn version of the "Star Spangled Banner."

Stacy Stockwell, a woman from Orlando in her 50s, drove with a group of friends overnight to lock down a viewing spot off the side of a roadway in Cape Canaveral.

She arrived at 3 am and took a nap in her truck.

When asked if she was concerned about Covid-19 risks, Stockwell said, "I am a little bit."

She said Wednesday's launch attempt drew jam-packed crowds to the area, and "people aren't very good at social distancing," she added.

Still, Stockwell didn't want to miss out on the historic moment. They set up shop a bit further inland on Saturday, hoping to avoid some of some of the crowds.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft will take off from Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

39A has a rich spaceflight history: It was the starting point for 11 different Apollo missions, including the first-ever moon landing in 1969. It was later used for the majority of NASA's Space Shuttle launches.

SpaceX signed a contract with NASA in 2014 to lease the pad for the next 20 years.

Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are now climbing aboard their Crew Dragon capsule. The process is called ingress in spaceflight terms: It's a slow, methodical series of steps, and Behnken and Hurley are helped by several technicians dressed in all-black jumpsuits.

Behnken and Hurley will strap themselves in, perform a series of communications checks, and then the hatch will be closed — locking them in until liftoff.

It's still more than two hours until launch time. But SpaceX says the astronauts will be very comfortable in their seats, which were designed specifically for each astronaut.

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley just pulled up to the launch pad in their Tesla Model X's.

They'll now climb up several sets of stairs to the "crew access arm," which allows the astronauts to board the capsule as it sits atop SpaceX's 200-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket.

Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are well into their launch-day routine: They finished suiting up in their spacesuits, gave air hugs to their families, and they're now heading for launch pad 39A — where SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule are waiting for them.

Despite a tornado warning, rolling thunderstorms and the risks of spreading Covid-19, spectators came out in full force to watch the first launch attempt on Wednesday.

Images from local news outlets showed massive crowds and few people following CDC guidelines. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has said he hopes this launch will inspire awe and uplift the general public during the ongoing health crisis.

Bridenstine and SpaceX chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell previously implored the public to follow the launch on television in order to prevent crowds of spectators from triggering a Covid 19 outbreak.

Even more people could turn out for the weekend launch attempt.

Restrictions in Florida continue to loosen despite upticks in confirmed cases of Covid-19 within the state.

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, which was closed during Wednesday's launch attempt, officially reopened on Thursday.

The center's website says only a limited number of people will be allowed on site to view this launch. Masks and temperature checks will be required for all guests.

Tickets quickly sold out after going on sale earlier this week.