Message posted by Peter Merlin on September 21, 2010 at 12:31:45 PST:
It was definitely worth the drive. For a while, however, I thought they would have to scrub the launch because some yahoo parked an unauthorized vehicle near SLC-8, another launch pad that happened to be in the restricted security zone. Although SLC-8 is five miles southwest of SLC-3E – well outside the minimum safe distance for observers – it is within the zone where debris could fall in the event of a launch mishap. The discovery of "a privately owned vehicle" came just moments before the end of a built-in 10-minute hold that precedes the final four minutes of the countdown. A security sweep was required to verify that no unauthorized personnel were within the restricted buffer zone. The launch director had to extend the hold several times, using up more than half of the available 59-minute launch window. A significantly longer delay would have resulted in postponing the launch until the next evening. I didn't want to make that drive two nights in a row but I would have. I was positioned at the edge of a bluff on the northern part of Vandenberg Air Force Base, about four miles from the launch pad. There is a PA system at the site so I could hear the comments from the Launch Control Center. At 8:56, the launch director polled his team members for “Go” or “No Go” status of their respective systems. Listening to the launch team as “Go fever” sweeps the control room is one of the best parts of any launch. With a flash of orange flame, the rocket’s engine ignited and the 19-story-tall Atlas rose majestically through a thin layer of fog into a night sky glittering with stars. It took about 10 seconds for the sound to arrive and it quickly built to a deep, low-frequency crackling rumble. Several minutes later, the rocket was out of sight. Then I had the long drive home with the looming prospect of getting up early the next morning for work. Was it worth it? "Totally."
In Reply to: Re: OT: NRO satellite launch posted by RickB on September 20, 2010 at 17:22:49 PST:
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