Comments on: GLAST ready to launch! http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:15:28 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Gamma Ray Twitter « The e-Astronomer http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/comment-page-1/#comment-91932 Gamma Ray Twitter « The e-Astronomer Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:45:07 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/#comment-91932 [...] The BA has written several posts about GLAST recently, eg here, and here. [...] [...] The BA has written several posts about GLAST recently, eg here, and here. [...]

]]> By: Jack Hagerty http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/comment-page-1/#comment-91931 Jack Hagerty Tue, 27 May 2008 22:12:02 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/#comment-91931 Sorry if the following is a duplicate. The server hung before I got the usual spam filter comment, and when re-posting, WordPress said it was a dupicate. I hope this section up front is enough to make it acceptable as "different." ================ The BA says: "I never touched the hardware; I never even saw it. But still, a piece of me will go up on that rocket in June." I know the feeling. As I've mentioned here in the past, my first job out of school was flight support for a classified Air Force satellite. It launched out of Vandenberg and was controlled from the "Blue Cube" in Sunnyvale, CA. My whole job was actually a glorified keypunch operator, and I never got to see the hardware, either. Came close once. Before one mission, though, we took a field trip down to VAFB (about 300 miles/500 Km from Sunnyvale) to see the vehicle on the pad. Wouldn't you know, the booster was there, but the "payload" was delayed. Still, I got to take the elevator to the top of the Titan IIIB and look at the hole in the top where our vehicle would go. For a hardware freak like me that was beyond description, but the others in the office (all programmer types) just wanted to leave. They considered themselves abused having to stand around in the cold, foggy wind coming off the Pacific while this ultra-nerd kept chattering on with the captain in charge of the pad team. I was the only one to accept his invitation to take a walk out on the catwalk to look at the main engines (standing some 50 feet/15 meters in the air over the flame trench). This, BTW, was the same pad that Clementine was launched from. - Jack Sorry if the following is a duplicate. The server hung before I got the usual spam filter comment, and when re-posting, WordPress said it was a dupicate. I hope this section up front is enough to make it acceptable as “different.”

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The BA says: “I never touched the hardware; I never even saw it. But still, a piece of me will go up on that rocket in June.”

I know the feeling. As I’ve mentioned here in the past, my first job out of school was flight support for a classified Air Force satellite. It launched out of Vandenberg and was controlled from the “Blue Cube” in Sunnyvale, CA. My whole job was actually a glorified keypunch operator, and I never got to see the hardware, either. Came close once.

Before one mission, though, we took a field trip down to VAFB (about 300 miles/500 Km from Sunnyvale) to see the vehicle on the pad. Wouldn’t you know, the booster was there, but the “payload” was delayed. Still, I got to take the elevator to the top of the Titan IIIB and look at the hole in the top where our vehicle would go. For a hardware freak like me that was beyond description, but the others in the office (all programmer types) just wanted to leave. They considered themselves abused having to stand around in the cold, foggy wind coming off the Pacific while this ultra-nerd kept chattering on with the captain in charge of the pad team. I was the only one to accept his invitation to take a walk out on the catwalk to look at the main engines (standing some 50 feet/15 meters in the air over the flame trench).

This, BTW, was the same pad that Clementine was launched from.

- Jack

]]> By: Jack Hagerty http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/comment-page-1/#comment-91930 Jack Hagerty Tue, 27 May 2008 20:52:43 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/#comment-91930 The BA says: "I never touched the hardware; I never even saw it. But still, a piece of me will go up on that rocket in June." I know the feeling. As I've mentioned here in the past, my first job out of school was flight support for a classified Air Force satellite. It launched out of Vandenberg and was controlled from the "Blue Cube" in Sunnyvale, CA. My whole job was actually a glorified keypunch operator, and I never got to see the hardware, either. Came close once. Before one mission, though, we took a field trip down to VAFB (about 300 miles/500 Km from Sunnyvale) to see the vehicle on the pad. Wouldn't you know, the booster was there, but the "payload" was delayed. Still, I got to take the elevator to the top of the Titan IIIB and look at the hole in the top where our vehicle would go. For a hardware freak like me that was beyond description, but the others in the office (all programmer types) just wanted to leave. They considered themselves abused having to stand around in the cold, foggy wind coming off the Pacific while this ultra-nerd kept chattering on with the captain in charge of the pad team. I was the only one to accept his invitation to take a walk out on the catwalk to look at the main engines (standing some 50 feet/15 meters in the air over the flame trench). This, BTW, was the same pad that Clementine was launched from. - Jack The BA says: “I never touched the hardware; I never even saw it. But still, a piece of me will go up on that rocket in June.”

I know the feeling. As I’ve mentioned here in the past, my first job out of school was flight support for a classified Air Force satellite. It launched out of Vandenberg and was controlled from the “Blue Cube” in Sunnyvale, CA. My whole job was actually a glorified keypunch operator, and I never got to see the hardware, either. Came close once.

Before one mission, though, we took a field trip down to VAFB (about 300 miles/500 Km from Sunnyvale) to see the vehicle on the pad. Wouldn’t you know, the booster was there, but the “payload” was delayed. Still, I got to take the elevator to the top of the Titan IIIB and look at the hole in the top where our vehicle would go. For a hardware freak like me that was beyond description, but the others in the office (all programmer types) just wanted to leave. They considered themselves abused having to stand around in the cold, foggy wind coming off the Pacific while this ultra-nerd kept chattering on with the captain in charge of the pad team. I was the only one to accept his invitation to take a walk out on the catwalk to look at the main engines (standing some 50 feet/15 meters in the air over the flame trench).

This, BTW, was the same pad that Clementine was launched from.

- Jack

]]> By: MarlowePI http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/comment-page-1/#comment-91929 MarlowePI Tue, 27 May 2008 17:05:01 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/#comment-91929 <i>But still, a piece of me will go up on that rocket in June. Pieces of lots of other people too.</i> This brings to mind a very funny and slightly macabre image. But still, a piece of me will go up on that rocket in June. Pieces of lots of other people too.

This brings to mind a very funny and slightly macabre image.

]]> By: hale_bopp http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/comment-page-1/#comment-91928 hale_bopp Mon, 26 May 2008 21:50:10 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/#comment-91928 Well, I did get to see the GLAST hardware...I visited Spectrum Astro in Phoenix during January of 2007 when GLAST was being assembled. I got the grand tour, including the full bunny suit clean room experience. They were installing the star trackers the day I was there and one of the solar panels was unfurled in the clean room as well. I have my GLAST launch invitation sitting on the table, but will be at the AAS meeting in St. Louis and can't make the launch unless it is delayed :( Well, I did get to see the GLAST hardware…I visited Spectrum Astro in Phoenix during January of 2007 when GLAST was being assembled. I got the grand tour, including the full bunny suit clean room experience. They were installing the star trackers the day I was there and one of the solar panels was unfurled in the clean room as well.

I have my GLAST launch invitation sitting on the table, but will be at the AAS meeting in St. Louis and can’t make the launch unless it is delayed :(

]]> By: JKH http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/comment-page-1/#comment-91927 JKH Mon, 26 May 2008 21:49:56 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/#comment-91927 Phoenix, LHC, GLAST, etc, etc, etc. There is so much great science going on lately... and the potential for a whole load of mind-blowing discoveries just around the corner. It's an exciting time to be alive. Phoenix, LHC, GLAST, etc, etc, etc. There is so much great science going on lately… and the potential for a whole load of mind-blowing discoveries just around the corner.

It’s an exciting time to be alive.

]]> By: broper http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/comment-page-1/#comment-91926 broper Mon, 26 May 2008 21:46:37 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/05/26/glast-ready-to-launch/#comment-91926 Maybe. WIMPS perhaps? Maybe. WIMPS perhaps?

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