YONE.
I'M GINGER GADSDEN.
>> Julie: I'M JULIE BROUGHTON.
>> Lisa: I'M LISA BELL.
NEWS 6'S ERIK von ANCKEN IS
JOINING US LIVE NOW ONCE AGAIN
FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER.
ERIK, WE COULD HEAR THE CHEERS.
WE HAVE THE GOOSEBUMPS.
I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE
OUT THERE.
NOW?
>> Reporte I THINK PEOPLE ARE
KIND OF STUNNED, QUITE FRANKLY.
ELON MUSK PROMISED A SHOW.
HE SAID WHATEVER HAPPENS, I WAS
TALKING ABOUT THIS TWO MINUTES
BEFORE LAUNCH, HE SAID THIS
THING COULD HAVE EXPLODED.
HE SAID BECAUSE THE WORLD'S MOST
POWERFUL OPERATIONAL NOW
CONFIRMED BECAUSE THIS ROCKET
HAD NEVER FLOWN, ANYTHING COULD
HAVE HAPPENED.
ACTUALLY.
HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE
VIBRATIONS FROM THE THREE
ROCKETS VIBRATING IT TO PIECES.
THE 27 ENGINES THERE.
THEY WERE SO CLOSE, IT COULD
APART.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
CLEARLY IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
IN FACT, EVERYTHING WENT
PERFECTLY OUT HERE.
WHEN THE ROCKET LIFTED OFF THAT
LAUNCH PAD BACK THERE, IT WAS
JUST LIKE THE SPACE SHUTTLE.
IT TAKES A FEW SECONDS.
FIRST YOU SEE IT RISING AND YOU
SEE THE PLUME OF SMOKE AND THEN
THE SOUND WAVES COME FROM -- I
THINK IT'S ABOUT 2.5 MILES AWAY
HERE.
THE SOUND WAVES COME FROM THE
LAUNCH PAD.
YOU FEEL IT.
THE WHOLE BUILDING I'M STANDING
ON TOP OF, THE BUILDING STARTED
RATTLING.
YOU COULD FEEL THE VIBRATION
FROM THE ROCKET AND CAR ALARMS
WHAT HAPPENS.
AND THEN THE LANDING WAS JUST AS
INCREDIBLE.
WE'VE SEEN ONE ROCKET BOOSTER
COME BACK AND LAND, RIGHT, WE'VE
SEEN THAT A BUNCH OF TIMES NOW.
SpaceX HAS MASTERED THAT.
TWO BOOSTERS, SIDE BY SIDE,
EXACT TIME.
IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
WE SPOTTED THE BOOSTERS COMING
THROUGH THE CLOUDS HERE.
THEY LANDED A FEW MILES FROM
WHERE I'M STANDING AT THE CAPE
CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION,
SLOW DOWN AND TOUCH DOWN RIGHT
ON THE BIG X'S, THE BIG SpaceX
YELLOW AND I THINK IT'S BLUE-ISH
PURPLE X, AND THEY STUCK IT.
AND THEN WE FELT THE SONIC BOOM.
HERE AGAIN IS THE LAUNCH.
AGAIN, EVERYONE FROM I'D SAY
MILES AROUND, EXCUSE ME, INTO
CENTRAL FLORIDA COULD SEE THIS.
EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T FEEL IT.
IF YOU'RE AT JETTY PARK, IF
YOU'RE AT CAPE CANAVERAL, IF YOU
PROBABLY FEEL IT.
BUT CERTAINLY YOU COULD SEE IT.
THE STREAM UP, THE CLOUD STREAM
AS IT WENT UP IN THE SKY, IT WAS
REALLY MAGNIFICENT AGAINST THE
CLEAR, CRYSTAL CLEAR BLUE SKY.
GOT ABOUT TWO MINUTES INTO THE
FLIGHT AND THE CENTER BOOSTER
KEPT GOING WITH THE ROADSTER
TUCKED SAFELY IN THE NOSE CONE
AND WENT OFF FOR DEEP SPACE
WHILE THOSE TWO ROCKET BOOSTERS
SEPARATED.
IT FELT LIKE A SPACE SHUTTLE
LAUNCH, LIKE I WAS SAYING, AND I
THINK PEOPLE AROUND HERE REALLY
MISS THAT.
LIKE I WAS SAYING, LADIES,
PEOPLE CAME FROM ALL OVER THE
SPACE COAST BUT ALSO ALL OVER
THE WORLD.
I HADN'T SEEN SO MANY CARS HERE
AT THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER AND
AROUND THIS AREA, CARS PARKED ON
THE CAUSEWAY, ON THE SIDE OF THE
BANANA RIVER SIN 2011, SINCE
ATLANTIS.
THEY HAD THE VOLUME UP FOR THE
FOLKS IN HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA,
THE MEN AND WOMEN WORKING ON THE
ROCKET SINCE ELON MUSK ANNOUNCED
THIS IN 2011.
THEY WENT NUTS.
THEY STARTED CHEERING, AS SOON
AS THEY SAW THE BOOSTERS COMING
THROUGH THE CLOUD.
THEY CREATED THIS.
THEY BUILT THIS.
IT WAS AN IDEA, A CRAZY IDEA
THAT ELON MUSK SAID, AT FIRST IT
SHOULD BE EASY AND THEN HE
REALIZED ONCE HE STARTED
STRAPPING THE THREE BOOSTERS
TOGETHER, IT GETS REALLY, REALLY
COMPLICATED.
IS HARD.
IT'S VERY, VERY DIFFICULT.
THAT'S WHY HE HAD SUCH LOW
EXPECTATIONS, BUT THE BOOSTERS
TOUCHED DOWN AT EXACTLY THE SAME
TIME IN EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACE.
SAFELY A SUCCESSFULLY.
I WOULD SAY, LADIES, THE PEOPLE
OUT HERE ON THE SPACE COAST
BETTER SHOW.
ELON MUSK PROMISED IT WOULD BE
AN INCREDIBLE SHOW.
I THINK THEY GOT IT.
>> Ginger: WE ALL GOT IT.
I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE
OCCASIONS, ERIK, WHERE SOMEONE
WILL SAY "DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE
YOU WERE WHEN THEY LAUNCHED THIS
DAY"?
AND I THINK WE WILL ALL HAVE
THAT SHARED EXPERIENCE TOGETHER.
IT WAS PHENOMENAL.
LAUNCHED.
IT'S BEEN DELAYED FOR QUITE SOME
TIME, TOO.
>> Reporter: RIGHT.
LIKE I SAID, ELON MUSK FIRST
CAME UP WITH THE IDEA IN 2011.
HE WAS LAUNCHING THE FALCON 9
ROCKETS AND THEN HE DECIDED,
WHAT IF I COULD JUST PUT TWO
MORE ROCKET BOOSTERS ON THE
SIDES OF THE FALCON 9 ROCKET AND
SEND IT UP.
THERE.
IT'S SO MUCH MORE COMPLICATED
THAN JUST ADDING TWO ROCKETS.
EVERYTHING CHANGESES, THE
AERODYNAMICS, THE PHYSICS, THE
FORCE JUST BEING SO CLOSE, THE
VIBRATIONS WE TALKED ABOUT A
WHILE AGO, IT ALL CHANGES.
AS THE ROCKET WAS BEING
DEVELOPED AND THE MODELING AND
THE COMPUTER SIMULATING, IT
SHOWED THE ONLY WAY TO TEST THIS
IS TO FLY IT.
SO ELON MUSK SAID THEY TESTED
OUT EVERYTHING THEY POSSIBLY
WELL.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT CAME
DOWN TO FLYING IT AND THEY DID.
ERIK von ANCKEN, REPORTING LIVE.