Launch Photo

Orbital put out a press release of my launch and included this awesome launch photo that I just had to share with everyone. http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/release.asp?prid=732

This should be the last rocket post before we inundate you with house posts!

Rocket Launch, and scenic California

OrbTM is GO...

For Launch!

OrbTM is my call sign when I am in the launch control room. It stands for Orbital Telemetry, and I am responsible for all the telemetry from our rocket. On Thursday the weather was just good enough for us to launch.

Michelle came out to watch the launch; I got her a pass onto Vandenburg Air Force Base, so she could hear the countdown and watch the launch. The launch was scheduled to go at Noon, but we had to delay until 4:00 PM. Michelle took some scenic pictures while she waited.

The launch vehicle performed as expected, but the payload was lost after around 9 minutes. Here is a link to a news story about the launch with more info: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1004/23minotaur/.

Michelle took the following shots of the rocket.

Sadly, she watched from about 20 miles away, so they aren't the best....but not bad for the distance and the haze.

I had to stay to work a little bit this weekend, but we had a few hours to go and check things out in the area. We got some decent pictures as we drove around. Here is windmill in the town of Solvang. It is a little Denmark town.

One of our favorite things to take pictures of is old farm buildings and equipment. Luckily for us there are a bunch of old barns in the farms and vineyards in this area!

Rocket Science!

Ever since I started working at Orbital Sciences 6 years ago, Michelle has introduced me as a Rocket Scientist even though my official title is Electrical Engineer. Now she has visual proof that I'm wrong:
We are getting ready to launch the very first Minotaur IV rocket. I have been working towards this launch since I started working at Orbital and I am very excited for it. Our launch window opens April 20th for seven days. Because of weather and a few other concerns the launch has already been pushed for a first opportunity on April 21st. Michelle is travelling out to California tonight to watch the launch, and we are both super excited for this big milestone in my career.

P.S. We closed on our house earlier today, so we are officially home owners! We will have more details to follow.