​Elon Musk's SpaceX Rocket Will Be Visible Over The UK Tonight

It's take two for Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket today, after the first attempt was called off due to bad weather just before blast off.

The second attempt will be taking place at around 3.22pm local time (8.22pm in the UK), and will be streamed live by both NASA and SpaceX via their respective websites.

But if you're lucky you may also clock the Falcon 9 rocket in the sky as it passes the UK later.

According to MeteorWatch, the spectacle should be visible a little later than expected, saying: "Unlike the earlier scrubbed launch on Wednesday, you won't see the craft over the UK 15 - 20 minutes later, but you may be able to see it pass over the UK/ Europe around 22:15 UK time the same evening."

PA

Advising people on how to spot the rocket as it passes over the UK, MeteorWatch shared a series of charts to help 'pinpoint the spacecraft in the sky'.

The website said: "You will only need your eyes and to know when and what direction to look in.

"The pass will be very low in the sky near the horizon and will be a challenge to spot. It may be too low to be visible in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England.

"This will be the only time we will be able to see the spacecraft fly over before docking the following day."

It added: "As the Spacecraft passes over the UK we may see just the one or a collection of objects looking like bright stars moving across the sky.

"The craft should be bright enough to follow once you catch a glimpse of it as it speeds toward the International Space Station for its rendezvous."

The spacecraft will be carrying NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, and will mark the first time astronauts have been launched into orbit from US soil since the Space Shuttle was retired.

PA

As well as travelling in the commercial spacecraft, the astronauts will also be wearing hi-tech SpaceX space suits.

This Demo-2 mission is a way of SpaceX showing that it can safely take astronauts to the International Space Station, and get them back in one piece.

It represents the final step on SpaceX's journey to being certified by NASA's Commercial Crew programme for regular flights carrying astronauts to the International Space Centre.

The original attempted launch saw an estimated crowd of 150,000 gather at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, despite social distancing measures remaining in place.

Ahead of Wednesday's event, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said: "We are asking people to join us in this launch, but to do so from home. We're asking people not to travel to the Kennedy Space Center.

"We're trying to make sure we have access to the International Space Station without drawing the massive amount of crowds that we usually would."

Topics: elon musk, World News, News, SpaceX, US News, Technology, space

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

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