Welcome back to Robertson’s Reportings! On July 8, 2011 the space shuttle called Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center with four astronauts on board: Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. Nine years later, on Wednesday, two astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, were prepared to become the first astronauts to launch into space from United States soil since 2011. Wearing their new lightweight suits designed by Elon Musk, they strapped in and prepared for launch but were forced to leave the ship shortly before takeoff because the launch was postponed. The sky turned a dark color a few hours before launch, and a tornado warning was issued for the part of Florida where the rocket was located. Everyone was kept waiting to hear what would take place, as the decision was made just before takeoff. The next date that the astronauts prepare to take part in the historic launch is Saturday, May 30. 

On Memorial Day, demonstrators met up in Greensboro and protested the lack of reopening taking place in North Carolina. This event was hosted by a group called ReOpen NC. The name, ReOpen NC, says it all. One protester stated, “You can’t quarantine the healthy, and this country has decided to quarantine the healthy.” Fortunately, the protest was very peaceful and was also an opportunity for people to honor fallen heroes. “One of the ways we honor those individuals is to continue to fight for the freedoms they died for, and that’s what we did with this rally,” another protester stated. 

There have been nearly six million reported cases worldwide and over one and half million cases in the United States of COVID-19. In response to deaths accredited to COVID-19 hitting 100,000 earlier this week, President Trump tweeted that “we have just reached a very sad milestone.” Additionally, he stated that the virus was a “very bad gift from China.” Claiming that the virus originated in China has been controversial, but it had to start somewhere. Many people simply don’t want to blame someone or a group for beginning this deadly pandemic. Research is still being conducted as to where the virus began, but many scientists and epidemiologists blame a wet market in Wuhan. However, research groups from China disagree with this claim.

See you next time on Robertson’s Reportings, coverage you can count on!