Edit: I forgot to post this on time, so we are kind of out of order!
Eric has been working on getting data from this satellite for at least 5 years now. What happened 5 years ago- damned COVID! It has been a go, and called off at least three times, if not 4. So when Dave and I heard it seemed like a go for Vandenberg, we decided to meet Eric and his team there and watch the launch.
Lompoc is about 5.5 hours southwest of here so we had a leisurely morning on Monday July 22nd headed there to watch the launch Tuesday morning at 11:13 am. Naturally we stopped in Pismo Beach and Splash Cafe for a lunch of clam chowder and fish and chips, and shrimp and chips. As good as always! We continued on to Lompoc and stayed at the same hotel Eric and his team were staying in, and then got to go scope out some possible watch sites. Vandenberg has pretty tight security and nowhere on base to watch. That is different from what we did when Matt was 13 at Cape Canaveral. That was a Saturn rocket, with bleachers about 3 miles away and an easy watch. This was a Space X Falcon rocket- much smaller. We met up with Eric at breakfast and found out the roads we had scoped out the night before were now closed and we had to find somewhere else to watch. ugh. They were going to a launch party with the other, bigger groups who were also launching.
So Dave and I go out early and find a spot with other random people, on the side of the road, who come out to watch the launches around Lompoc. Kind of a funny, highly nerdy group. We are watching for any movement in the vicinity of the rocket (we are behind a hill) and also watching on the cell phones. The countdown is on! And with 43 seconds left, it was called. We found out because we got a sad face emoji from Matt. Weirdly, Santa Barbara Airport had a power glitch, as well as SLO and they could not verify clear airspace. So it was delayed. We were so sad, and somewhat worried about how Eric was doing. So we scurried back into town, picked up Eric and we went to a truly authentic, hole in the wall, Mexican restaurant for lunch. He had some work to do, so Dave and I headed up to Pismo Beach (one of our favorite spots) to walk Oceano and get some cinnamon rolls as comfort food!
Being us, that evening we walked to another Mexican restaurant and had more good food while Eric and his team went to yet another third Mexican restaurant for dinner.
When we get to breakfast the next morning, the MSU team had scoped out a roadside area where we can see the rocket before launch and the whole process. It is along the road just past the prison and right next to part of Vandenberg. You can indeed see the top of the rocket from there. The professor from Dartmouth is there, MSU students, a couple JPL people as well as the grounds crew from either the prison or base. They were causally “working” while waiting for the launch. It felt like a lot of the family is waiting, lots of texting back and forth, because this launch is becoming so critical for Eric to get his degree! He needs data, baby! We can see the loading of fuels, the removal of the bracing and finally…tada. Launchpad is a go! It was sooooo cool.
Needless to say excitement abounded followed by breath holding as the booster flared, and then confirmation that the satellite was loose. Then the Falcon came back and landed on the launch site. Just like it is supposed to do! That was worth a double sonic boom. So exciting!
So it was a great trip, and we were so happy to get to be with the team and Eric to see it. The satellite is doing all of its calibrations and behaving so far. Very proud of Eric for all the work he has put into this. And amazing – our Eric has something orbiting the earth. AMAZING! And of course, on our way home we stopped at Splash Cafe again for lunch. Gotta get your ocean time while you can!