Boaters Marvel at Downpour Near Cape Canaveral Ahead of Planned SpaceX Launch

Severe weather threatened the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 27.

The launch was scheduled to be the first time American astronauts were launched into space from US soil in nearly a decade, with the SpaceX rocket sending Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station.

A boater near the coast of Cape Canaveral filmed choppy water as a storm moved in, as seen in this video posted to Instagram. The filmer described being in a “torrential rainstorm.” Winds were at 30 knots, or 34.5 mph, three hours before the set launch time.

Launch was scheduled for 4.33 pm, and decisions can be made up to 30 minutes before launch, reports said. Credit: breathe_sail_dive via Storyful