NASA and SpaceX will attempt to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station tomorrow, three days after a failed first attempt.
The space giants attempted a first launch from the Kennedy Space Centre on Wednesday night, but were forced to cancel due to poor weather conditions.
While NASA usual welcomes spectators to the Kennedy Space Centre for rocket launches, amid the coronavirus pandemic it urged the public not to visit the site.
Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, 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.”
Despite this advice, photos from Wednesday’s launch show huge crowds of spectators.
While exact numbers remain unclear, experts believe that around 150,000 people turned up for the launch.
Speaking to space.com, Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism, said: “We are still running cell phone data and other reports for possible additional insight, but the estimated number of viewers in person was 150,000.”
Meanwhile, Florida Today reports that very few spectators followed social distancing guidelines, or even wore face masks.
It said: “Not many masks were sighted among the onlookers.”
NASA and SpaceX will attempt a second launch tomorrow at 15:22 EDT (20:22 BST).
Mirror Online will be covering the second launch attempt live, so make sure you check back in tomorrow for all the latest NASA and SpaceX news.
