Afternoon . It is a challenge to compete with the weather in florida in the summer, but we will do what to write. We are moving ahead. It sounds like we have a 5050 chance with the weather. We will see how it works out. It is my privilege to introduce our administrator. Thank you. Our highest priority is and doug, has been bob and and a couple of days ago, we had too much electricity in the atmosphere. The challenge is not we were in a lightning storm, the challenge is a launch could trigger lighting. The rocket itself can become a lightning booth. So we had these parameters set ahead of time, both the nasa and spacex teams knew what the parameter was. The limitations were exceeded and that put us in a position to delay the launch. I think this is certain, though, we will launch american astronauts on american rockets, from american soil and we will do it with the absolute priority being the safety of our astronauts. I am very proud of the nasa team, proud of the spacex team. From american soil and we will do it with the absolute priority being the safety of our astronauts. I am very proud of the nasa team, proud of the spacex team. A lot of the comments that i had in the interviews ahead of time were, are you going to feel undue pressure, because of all of the attention on this, not just attention on the united states, but globally, all the vips here. Are you going to feel undue pressure to launch . And we have all been in agreement that there will be no pressure, we will launch when we are ready, and the president and Vice President were proud of the nasa and spacex team for making the right call for the right reasons. When we do this again saturday, if we do it again on sunday, we will feel no pressure. We will go when we are ready. Safety is the highest priority, and that is what we are focused on. We will open it up to questions . Jim morhart, deputy nasa administrator and a great friend. We are honored to have him as our deputy, having worked many years in the senate, he helps us a lot with the political aspects of the job that i deal with. Thank you, jim. Jim good morning, i just really want to start by saying, we are at the dawn of a new age. We are really leading the beginning of a space revolution. And, think about it. This is really something much bigger than all of us. But really, our hope and prayer for tomorrow is for us to inspire the next generation and to give hope for many people who need it right now. And, also to unite our country, and the world and you think about i guess what im trying to say is we need your support and we hope you will stay with us, as we get this flight test, whether it is the next day or the next day after that. A mercury seven astronaut said a good scrub is better than a bad launch any day, and that is where we are at. Thank you. We will go to questions. Good morning, irene, aviation week. Was there anything at all out of the countdown on wednesday that is being changed, anything that the teams learned that will be applied for this . And a quick question for nicole. Of course this is not boeings day today, but can you give us an update on where you are with your training for your flight. Thanks. Jim certainly, this was interesting, we have done a dry dress rehearsal but never a wet dress rehearsal. So, getting from a position of fueling the rocket, and arming the launch abort system and these kinds of things that we went through, and then defueling, yes, there were learning opportunities, and we are always gathering data. I will tell you the rocket was ready to go, the crew capsule was ready to go, all the ground systems were working according to plan. So, i would say no big changes, but it is good for the agency to have a wet dress rehearsal behind us. That is all very positive, and every time we do one step further, we learn things, which is good for the agency. The second question was what . For nicole. Nicole thank you. Yes, we are absolutely tremendously so proud of nasa and spacex. We are calling this the beginning of flight test season, and it really is. You will see the historic launch of the nasa spacex crew dragon. Following that, next year you will see the launch of boeings starliner. On the heels of that you will see the launch of orion. We talked about the first step of us going to the moon, there will be a lot of launches and a lot of movement, and it is starting with the spacex launch. Good morning. So nice to be here and godspeed for tomorrow. Thank you for taking our questions. I want to ask you about the 45th task force, specifically. As you know, americas best at Patrick Air Force base are going to rescue bob and doug, god forbid something goes wrong and they end up in the water. They showed us the equipment and they have been training for years. They told us that they started training after the Shuttle Program ended in 2011. They are so excited. They have this warehouse full of stuff, 150 men and women. They only step in, as you know, if something goes wrong. If not, we are not going to see or hear about them. They did not say this, but i sensed a little bit of sadness . That they are not going to get the glory when bob and doug come home and we can welcome our heroes back. Is there any way to give them some of the glory . They know this is spacexs show, and we understand that. But is there any way to involve them a little bit considering what they are going to do and probably never be seen . Jim i will be happy to take that, and i will tell you that bob cabana works with the 45th space wing day in and out, and they are amazing partners for nasa. Deck three is the organization that should something go wrong, and the launch abort system is triggered, they will be rescuing bob and doug. And they will be involved in recovery, but even beyond that, the 45th space wing does so much more than recovery. They are involved in helping us understand, second by second, what the weather is, helping us with the data, helping us with the numeric weather models for the weather. They help us with the range, making sure we have everything we need for the range and clearance of the range. This is their range, and they are amazing partners. This whole launch, we have branded this importantly, this is not launch nasa, it is not launch spacex. It is launch america. This is americas launch and the interagency is critical. The 45th space wing, which is a new component of the brandnew space force, i want to reemphasize that they are now part of the space force. And, emphasize that we have other partners as well. The faa is very involved, the department of transportation is the parent of the faa. So, this is an all of america effort, and when we launch, it will be launch america. Bob . Bob i want to emphasize what the administrator said, spaceflight is a team sport, none of us are successful unless all of us are successful. We could not have a better relationship than we do with general doug and the 45th space wing. We would not be here without them. Everything we have done working with space wing and the faa to improve our operations, to enable commercial operations in a more userfriendly environment. This has been years in the making getting us to where we are, and it is not just the engineering team, not just nasa, or the commercial crew program. This is acrosstheboard and all of the support organizations in nasa and the air force making this a successful launch. This is launch america, not just launch commercial crew. So, our whole nation needs to take pride in this, and everybody has had a role to play. They need to own this. They are part of it. We would not be here if everybody was not playing their role in making us successful. Administrator, great to see you again. This is florida, the weather can do what it wants to do, but the forecast is not looking so great for tomorrow or sunday. Some of our viewers are wondering why not wait until the weather is good . Why go through the whole process with lightning in the area . Jim we are balancing so many things, and i want people to know that when we balance all of those things, there is always going to be uncertainty. We could wait another week and see that the weather is going to be good. The question is why is the weather good a week from now . The answer is because the winds are going to be east from west, so all of the cumulonimbus clouds and all of the storm systems are going on the west coast of florida. Looks r loons like like it will be fantastic. The problem is, when the wind are east to west, if we have a pad abort capability, which is what we did not have under the Space Shuttle. If we have that triggered, we are going to have our astronauts landing on land, and that is not an option for us. We are balancing a lot of things. We are also balancing the time of day we launch, making sure that we have to consider the sleep cycles of the crew to make sure that they are not in the middle of a very critical portion of the flight when they have been without sleep for a period of 24 hours, and that will not happen because we are managing for that. It is not just the sleep cycles of the crew, but also the sleep cycles on the International Space station, and all of these things that we are balancing have to match. We have these unique opportunities of time. It is interesting when you talk about launching to the International Space station, your launch window is not a window at all, it is instantaneous, if you do not meet it, you do not go. You have to have all of these things ahead of time, and then you select a window. If the weather is good, you go, if the weather is not, you do not go. We have these different opportunities in the weeks ahead, but it is important to note, and bob just said this in a meeting earlier, we cannot forget that this is a test flight. This is a test flight. We are not in normal operations. We are learning. Everything we are doing as an institution is about learning. And, as we get ready for this launch, we want to make sure that we have everything as safe as possible. Again, cannot say it enough. Bob and doug are our highest priority. This is a test flight. And we will go when everything is as safe as we can possibly make it. Good morning, this is marsha from the associated press. I would like the two active astronauts to answer this. This is being described as a revolution, a new dawn, and i would like you to tell me what your image of the future is going to look like in your lifetimes. Is it too much to hope for jetsons, tony stark, ironman . Realistically, what do you want to leave people with and what is possible in our lifetimes . Kjell thank you for that question. I am still waiting for my personal jetpack, but the future is incredibly exciting. It has been said many times already that we are really at the cusp of the next generation of space flight, and that is so true. What we will witness in the near future, and hopefully tomorrow, is a culmination of that relationship between a government and commercial entity helping us to get to lowearth orbit and to the International Space station. My vision is that this ignites that next generation of spaceflight. I look forward to see artemis take the first woman and the next man to the lunar surface for a permanent habitat where we will be doing research and science, and exploration on the moon. And that will serve as a launching pad to get us to mars. I think that is doable within my lifetime, and i am so excited about this launch, because i remember in second grade watching the Space Shuttle launch. The teacher wheeled a television into our classroom and that inspired me to recognize that this job of exploration was a possibility for me. Tomorrows launch will do that for our next generation of scientists, explorers, and astronauts. It is that generation that will take us to the moon, mars, and beyond. Thank you. Nicole thank you. I think what i look forward to is a vision where the Younger Generation sees no limitations in their life. Whether that be because of their gender, orientation, nationality, or anything, they just see possibilities. What this allows, this partnership between public and private and commercialization of lowearth orbit, you see opportunities open up. In the future, i envision an opportunity where it is not just astronauts and government folks that are going to lowearth orbit, but there are other folks, scientists, doctors, poets, reporters. Imagine if you were up there, and you were able to capture it with your own eyes and write this incredible story, you would be able to convey that to america and to the world, much better than we can tell our story to you. I see it as a real possibility. The word, unbelievable shall be stricken from the dictionary because you see a lot and go that is unbelievable, but it is believable, we are watching it. This change is taking place, this step is happening. You will see lowearth orbit open up and see us go to the moon and see artemis, and a man and woman on the moon and eventually you will see us on mars. Joey with reuters. A question for jim bridenstine, have you talked to bob and doug . Anything mission was scrubbed . How are they doing . Are they eager to go to the station . Have you come to a decision on how long bob and doug will be staying on the iss since we locked down the august 30 date for the next mission date for the next mission . Jim we have to remember that this is a test flight and that will determine what we do. We are targeting a date of august 30. You used the word locked down. Nothing is locked down before a test flight. We will do this test flight. Bob and doug are in great spirits and are ready to go, and certainly we have been in touch via text, and of course i will be talking to them before they launch again. Before they get ready to launch again. Thank you. Hello, Stephen Clark from spaceflight now. A question for the astronauts, have you had a chance to talk to bob and doug and if you have any more insights about their experience on wednesday, having propellant loaded into a rocket for the first time. There was a lot of discussion about the risk involved with the load and go fueling procedure, i want to get your perspective. For the administrator, just an update on boeings schedule, if you have an update on when their second oft flight test will occur, and when the crew flight test might occur. Thank you. Nicole i was fortunate enough to talk to doug hurley the night before their first launch attempt, and i think he gave me a call because i will be the next marine flying. And he wanted to give me a little bit of fatherhood, we talked about the weather and i asked him how does it feel. Hat would it feel like to scrub . Did he have concerns . And he did not. He mentioned the first time he flew on a shuttle he scrubbed five or six times before they launched. He said you just have to keep in mind that you have to remain flexible, and that calls and decisions will be made and everybody is out there keeping you safe and making sure you will have a successful mission. I thought that was a really good key, applicable for the rest of your life. There are plenty of things that you cannot control, the weather being one of them, and you need to be flexible and not waste energy on things you cannot control, and do what you need to do to prepare, and when it is time for the next opportunity, you are ready to go. Kjell as far as a replay, of oft 1 we are targeting by the end of the year, that is eminently achievable, i would say for the first launch of crew that has yet to be determined. This is daniel, with wired magazine, with a question for the administrator. We are all not hoping for another scrub, i was hoping you could tell us a little bit about the precautions that nasa takes, i imagine you have to shut down the range. So could you tell us about that and the costs per scrub. Jim that is an important question. A couple of things that we have to consider when we make these kind of decisions. We do not consider cost, because again there is no cost to the lives of bob and doug. We will do whatever it takes to make sure they are safe. But, for example, right now we are going through a process, thinking tomorrow, it is about a 50 probability that we will have the conditions capable of launching at the time of launch. Here at the cape. And, of course, when you add in the uncertainty downrange, because we have a launch abort capability, we have to have the right weather conditions down range at the same time. And so, the question is, when we have a 50 probability, and the next opportunity is on sunday, we could put ourselves in a position where we are doing back to back wet dress rehearsals saturday and sunday, and the thing we have to do start to consider are the Human Factors. The Human Factors add risk as well because it wears everybody out, including our astronauts, although they never complain. We want to make sure that everybody is well rested and ready to go. One of the things we might do, even today, this afternoon, we might get another weather brief and make a decision that sunday is the day, not saturday. It will depend on every thing is a range of probabilities. What are the probabilities on saturday and on sunday . If it is high enough on saturday, we target that day. We are looking at all of these different options. Earlier i mentioned that we have to consider sleep cycles. We want to lunch at a time when our crew, if the time to orbit is 15 to 20 hours, that is in the sweet spot, because they can get on orbit, get some rest, and then dock to the International Space station. So, getting that right is important as well. When we talk about their sleep cycle, depending on the day we launch and the time we launch, we have got phase burns and boost burns that we have to get accomplished, and if those are in the middle of the times when the astronauts are trying to catch sleep, then that is not optimum either. So, we are having to balance all of these things. There is cost associated with the delay, make no mistake. There is cost. We load the rocket with liquid oxygen and unload. We have all of these people at the cape that are focused on getting the mission accomplished, there is absolutely cost associated. As far as the total dollar amount, given all of the things that we do, i do not have that number handy right now, but there are costs associated. But, again, compared to the investments that it took us to get to this point, that is minimal. Compared to the lives of bob and doug, we are not worried about that. Remember. It is a test flight and we need to make sure that we are maximizing the opportunity for success, and that is what we are focused on. Briefly do you have the ball park figure, hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars . Jim we will get you a number. This is Michael Sheetz from cnbc. My question is for jim, and bob could probably add color. Jim, youve asked people to stay home for this mission. Given that we are all Wearing Masks and social distancing. But, the visitor complex reopened the day after the s