At Spaceflight, we get pretty excited about rocket launches. More launches mean more opportunities for small satellites, like the ones we integrate, to fly! So, though we already stream most launches, SpaceX’s SES-8 launch grabbed all our attention last week.

Last Monday, although no one admitted it until T-20 minutes, most of us were streaming the SES-8 launch on our work computers. Once we realized that we all were watching it anyway, one of the engineers plugged her computer into the “big screen” so that everyone in the office could watch. Even the new paralegal was riveted. We were disappointed when the mission was scrubbed at the end of the launch window.

Some of us tuned back in on Thanksgiving, only to see the last minute abort after ignition. The tension is certainly building and, at Spaceflight, we don’t want to miss the lift-off!

Luckily, now we’re prepared for watching the launch on the big screen. Monday revealed some technical difficulties with our laptop connection system. The major issue was that the feed was delayed about 10 seconds, so one of our engineers noted the first “abort” about 10 seconds before the rest of us. (Spoiler alert!). Now we know to reload the screen so that Adam can’t pretend to see the future by watching his real-time computer screen.

With the technicalities sorted out, we’re ready for the SES-8 launch tomorrow.  SpaceX’s first geo transfer launch has an impact on our industry, our supply of launch vehicles, and our mission to make space accessible to everyone.