Remember, remember, the 14th of November (if you're an astronaut): NASA names the date for Crew-1 mission to ISS NASA has stuck a pin in 14 November (15 Nov for those running on GMT) for the launch of the first crew rotation mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to be launched from US soil. The four-person crew is also the largest to be loaded into a spacecraft since the Space Shuttle was retired. The mission had been pushed …
That has to be the absolute best proof that rocket science is awesome.
We, as a race, are at the point where we can build things that are so complex, so precise, that an insignificant amount of some compound is enough to require a shutdown on a launch procedure.
And the fact that we have the technology to detect that is, again, awesome.
Rocket science. It's in the title.
Just to emphasize your last point, the ability to shut down a large rocket seconds before launch even after some engines have started their firing sequence is incredible. Besides the Falcon 9 we also saw this with the Delta 4. In the old days it would have meant blowing up the rocket.
Go (or NoGo) boffins.
There might be just enough time to send the crew a Star Trek envelope with a Star Trek stamp. Mind you I've found mail to the US can take two days or two weeks, and that was before Trump decided to hobble mail votes.
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