“It’s about exploring places we’ve never seen,” she said of Artemis, an entrée to deeper space. She was uneasy herself with how the focus on the “Bob and Doug” SpaceX flight was “America’s return to space,” because “space is for everyone.” But she went to see that launch, and went back hoping to see Artemis. Petersburg’s Emily Carney, founder of the group Space Hipsters and blogger for a company that sends human ashes to space, doesn’t disagree. Kristy Weick, 41, of Orlando, who is a member of The Planetary Society, wears leggings with the moon phases during a gathering for at Rec 225 in Cocoa on Sunday, August 28, 2022. Founded by Carl Sagan and now led by Bill Nye, it is to space enthusiasts what the Audubon Society is to birders. The eve of Artemis I’s planned launch, a bar in Cocoa hosted a gathering of the Planetary Society. “And I’ve had a tear in my eye for every one of them except the ones I was in.” Melnick, who with Nicole Stott is one of two astronauts to graduate from Clearwater High School, has witnessed 70 launches up close. “Disney is all make-believe, and at Kennedy Space Center, you’re walking into reality.” Asked recently, former astronaut Bruce Melnick agreed. He argued that Kennedy Space Center should be Florida’s biggest attraction, not the theme parks. Years ago, Neil deGrasse Tyson playfully shamed me during an interview after learning I’d never visited the Space Coast. But Florida is where the candle gets lit.
Houston, aka “Space City,” owns NASA Mission Control. Huntsville, Alabama, may be the “Rocket City” where scientists built America’s first spacecrafts. For hardcore space fans, it’s the place to be. And like previous moonshots, the Space Coast is ground zero for liftoff and the nation’s attention. The Artemis missions, aiming to return humans to the moon and set the table for Mars, are a big deal in an already booming new era for the space industry in Florida. Vars had been making this pilgrimage since he was 5. Morning, Vars hoped, would bring his 42nd launch, according to a list in his journal with entries starting in 1998: John Glenn’s space shuttle ride at age 77. Now they drank Artemis Pale Ale and watched space news on YouTube. Petersburg playing his usual soundtrack, the Public Service Broadcasting album “The Race For Space.” His best friend, Michael Strittmatter, rode shotgun, his boyfriend, Paul Scribner, in back. Joey Vars, an earnest 29-year-old with long hair shaved on the sides, waited in his favorite spot where the launchpad peeked between the palms. NASA scrubbed the launch following an engine issue. Joselyn Guerrero, 22, Alex Guerrero, 54 and Margo Castro, 51, of Costa Rica, await the launch of the Artemis rocket with others from Rotary Riverfront Park in Titusville on Monday, August 29, 2022.
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