Spectacular Spacey Independence Days

"I Need My Space" - Awaiting the scrubbed space shuttle launch on July 1, 2006

The most space-intensive summers I ever had were my two NASA Academy summers, as an intern in 2005 and a co-leader in 2006. Those two summers produced awesome and awe-inspiring space memories and two memorable Independence Days. Traditional fireworks aren’t the only things that flash, burn, and bang!

In 2005, my NASA cohort of interns based at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama traveled to the Washington, DC area for tours of NASA Headquarters, Goddard Space Flight Center, and the University of Maryland. We also hit up various monuments, the zoo, and museums such as both Smithsonian Air & Space locations while we were there.

Late evening July 3, 2005, our group gathered at a University of Maryland auditorium with other students and invited guests. We heard a talk by University of Maryland professor and NASA Deep Impact mission PI Michael A'Hearn and a few other scientists on the team. We crashed the VIP section of the auditorium to fill up on snacks and grab free mission swag (pins, posters, etc.).

At 1:45 AM on July 4, three large screens showed a live view of the Deep Impact probe approaching comet Tempel 1. We could see the comet clearly. As the minutes went by, we could see craters getting larger as the impactor got closer. Finally the images stopped coming. Cheers erupted from the team at JPL in California. Finally, we could see why. The bottom of the comet had been smashed! A bright flash could be seen from where the impactor had hit, and the images that followed showed the flash growing larger and brighter. It was a spectacular Independence Day explosion, even better than the fireworks we watched at the National Mall later that day.

Americans smacking into a comet on July 4, 2005.

I was a student at Florida Institute of Technology on the Space Coast when the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed upon returning to land at Kennedy Space Center in 2003. We were all devastated. The space shuttles were grounded for two and a half years. Finally, in July 2005, Space Shuttle Discovery launched its return-to-flight mission. Our NASA Academy group was able to witness that spectacular piece of history from the VIP bleachers at Kennedy Space Center.

However, all was not well with the shuttle program, and the space vehicles were grounded for another year. My NASA Academy team in 2006 was able to travel to Kennedy Space Center in July 2006 to see the second Space Shuttle Discovery return-to-flight launch on July 4.

We spent much of that day having fun at the KSC Visitor Complex, which I highly recommend. As launch time approached, used our free-access passes to drive to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Some of our team watched from the ground around the VAB. I followed a few others to climb an unused mobile launch platform to get a view above the trees. Of all the spots I’ve seen a launch, it was one of the best views!

At T-4 minutes, a security guard climbed the mobile launch platform, and there was a collective gasp. “You all have to go,” he said. I stared in shocked disbelief until he said, “Just kidding!” and joined us. From then on, I was in a world of happiness and awe. Apparently some people were chanting the countdown, but I couldn’t hear them. I was in my own world where only me and Discovery existed.

A rocket ignition is the best type of firework there is!

My view of the Space Shuttle Discovery launch from atop the treeline on July 4, 2006.

Although we’ve been waiting patiently the past two days for the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of Intelsat 35e, we will not get a rocket launch firework display tonight. But here’s to hoping for a future SpaceX launch success and future spacey Independence Days to come!

December 21, 2015: New Life For Rockets & Humans

This is not the SpaceX launch on Dec. 21, 2015; this was July 18, 2016. But still pretty.

I remember the evening of December 21, 2015 well. The winter solstice brought new life into my world with the birth of my daughter Josephine on December 20. As I stepped foot into motherhood, the space industry stepped foot into a new era of reusable rocketry.

It has been a guessing game for spectators up to that point: will SpaceX succeed in launching a Falcon 9 rocket to orbit and successfully land a spent booster back on the ground, upright, asking to be refurbished and reused? Before each launch, probabilities were discussed and bets were taken. And each time, we watched with disappointment as our collective hopes ended in a fiery collapse.

But maybe this time was different. Past technological successes proved that it was feasible. Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, NASA, and others had demonstrated launch and landing of a vertical rocket. But this was the first orbital attempt of its kind, the first time a rocketeer dared to direct a spacecraft to circle the Earth, make a delivery, and return intact to Earth where it left minutes before.

Space is always in my heart and on my mind. I had not forgotten about the rocket launch in my sleep-deprived new mom hustle. I barely knew what day it was, but I knew the exact time SpaceX was scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. However, from my hospital room in Melbourne an hour south from the launch activity, I was barely aware of what time it was! Exhausted and in love, I cuddled my newborn and counted down the hours until the hospital would release us home.

A passenger in my husband's car as we drove north on US-1, my primary concern was comforting my passionately upset daughter who I would soon learn hated everything about car rides. Through the baby's screams and my brain's own screams for rest, I noted the time and looked east. There was the fireball rising in the dark night sky, ascending more quickly than I could capture it with my phone's camera. The result was a blurred image with an equally bright streetlight detracting from the photo's brilliant subject. Normally I would have been bummed to miss photographing a launch, but at that moment, it was far down on my list of priorities.

Time was lost to me again as we arrived home. I unbuckled my tiny daughter from her car seat and lifted her above the driveway of her new home. And I heard it: two sonic booms. I quickly checked the news on my phone and cheered – they had done it! The SpaceX team had successfully landed the first stage Falcon 9 booster back down at Cape Canaveral. I, and to a limited extent my one-day-old child, had witnessed history being made. Knowing me, I probably cried a little at the beauty.

I ask you, is it too much to call this new era of rocket reusability the era of Josephine?

Smallsats & Small Launch Vehicles

Space Shuttle Columbia model at NASA MSFC - July 2008

With historical awe over the Apollo Saturn V days and the excitement over a “monster” heavy-lift rocket, large launchers get all the attention. I can understand the appeal. Our ability to put huge payloads into orbit is impressive, almost inconceivable. Watching one of these giant rockets light and ascend to the heavens is spectacular. They deserve the attention they command.

And yet, under the radar, smaller launchers are aiming to revolutionize how we put objects into space. New small satellite launch vehicles (smallsat launchers) hope to deliver small payloads into orbit quickly and reliably for a much lower cost than what is currently available on the market. There is a huge pent-up demand for smallsat (cubesat, nanosat, microsat, etc.) launch and therefore a built-in initial customer base for any new launcher that can deliver as promised.

My first report for a client was a look at the smallsat launch vehicle markets. It demanded most of my time for a few months, but I’m proud announce it was published in September. Since then, I’ve published two follow-up articles on the subject. On December 14, my colleague and I will host a free webinar on smallsats and launchers. 

I’ve been privileged to watch several types of rocket launches in Florida: Space Shuttle, Delta II, Delta IV, Atlas V, Falcon 1, and Falcon 9. However, I have yet to see a smallsat launcher take to the skies. Most of these small launchers aren't operational yet. In the United States, only Orbital ATK's Pegasus is what I’d classify as a small launch vehicle currently in operation. Pegasus is currently scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on December 12, but sadly I moved away from Florida and therefore will only be able to watch the video The last time Pegasus launched from the Space Coast, it was 2003 and I was a freshman in college not yet paying attention to non-crewed rocket launches.

I had hoped my previous employer would succeed with an air launch to orbit system similar to how Pegasus launches payloads to space. However, I now believe they have a low likelihood of succeeding, which is a shame. I hope I’m wrong. But the truth is, that not many of the nearly 50 smallsat launch systems will become operational. I have my favorites, but I’m not clairvoyant. Right before Firefly announced their financial difficulties that furloughed their staff, I praised their Alpha rocket as having a high likelihood of success. Surprises happen all the time.

The top companies I foresee succeeding in this area are Generation Orbit, Rocket Lab, Vector Space Systems, and Virgin Galactic. I’d love to see a Rocket Lab launch out of New Zealand someday, but given the distances, I'm more likely to see a smallsat launch from the United States. More than one of these companies plans to launch from Florida. I’d take a special trip down to the Sunshine State to see a future launch of one of these new vehicles! History will be made in the next few years in the smallsat launch vehicle industry.

The last launch I saw before moving - ULA Atlas V, July 2016

Sparklers & Rocket Launches

My husband holding the sparks

My husband and I were playing with sparklers last night in anticipation of the American Independence Day. Being the scientist I am, I immediately wondered about the shapes, colors, and chemical reactions of sparklers. I was able to find out a lot of information about the chemistry of these simple fireworks, which is so interesting! But I'm a physicist, I want to understand the physics.

In general, sparks are created when a strong electric field accelerates free electrons, creating ions and freeing more electrons. This creates an electrically conductive area, allowing for a sudden flow of electricity. However, this is not the kind of sparks that sparklers create.

Pyrotechnics, fire caused by chemical reactions, is what fuels sparkler fun. Sparklers burn metallic fuel explosively, producing branching sparks. Common sparkler fuels include aluminium, magnesium, magnalium, iron, titanium, and ferrotitanium. I don't understand the physics of the branching process and I was unable to find a resource describing it. If anyone reading this knows more, please comment below!

Fireworks are fascinating and beautiful, but fireworks of a bigger kind are even better. I'm still learning how to use my new telephoto lens, but I still managed to capture the powerful fireworks below. Happy birthday, America!

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch on May 27, 2016

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch on June 15, 2016

ULA Atlas V launch on June 24, 2016

Juno's Journey to Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and the planet most responsible for our current planetary orbits and orders. I once coded a model of our solar system that included and then removed Jupiter, and what a difference! Jupiter keeps everyone in line. My favorite feature of Jupiter is its colorful cloudy atmosphere with huge, long-lasting storms. Seven space missions over the course of 43 years thus far have contributed to our knowledge of this gas giant.

Nearly 5 years ago: August 3, 2011. I was on the guest list for the Juno launch to Jupiter on a ULA Atlas V rocket out of Cape Canaveral. As local planetary scientists and members of the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Science, my graduate advisor Josh and I were invited to participate despite having no direct connection to the mission. I do love living in Florida!

The festivities began with an evening welcome reception. Visitors from all over joined in to mingle and feast. The next day, I enjoyed a tour of Kennedy Space Center. Even though I had toured KSC facilities before, it's always fun to see the new happenings!

The first stop was the International Space Station Processing Facility. It's a large high bay of ISS module pieces, similar to the ISS training mock-up displays that I once saw at Johnson Space Center, but larger. We saw one of the Italian Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules named Raffaello, a docking hub, and a payload canister the same size as the space shuttle payload bay. There was also an early mock-up of the Boeing crew capsule, the CST-100 Starliner.

Raffaello - August 4, 2011

An early Starliner mock-up - August 4, 2011

The next stop was the Vehicle Assembly Building. It doesn't matter how many times I've been in the VAB, its sheer massiveness takes my breath away each time. Parked inside, I was so excited to see space shuttle orbiter Discovery, slightly disassembled, done with its space-flying lifetime and preparing to be a museum piece at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Dulles. Seeing it up close and uncovered was amazing! But I almost teared up, because seeing a retired space shuttle like that is heartbreaking.

Retired Discovery in the VAB - August 4, 2011

Finally, the tour bus took us to the Air Force Station side of Cape Canaveral to the Atlas V rocket sitting on the launch pad with the Juno spacecraft tucked inside, waiting to be launched. I've never been that close to an active rocket. It was really cool! We went around the back first, then after the ULA safety officials deemed it okay, we drove around to the front. It's remarkable how little structure there was for the rocket compared to the huge rotating service structure that used to surround the space shuttles on the pad, which is what I was most used to seeing at the time. In comparison, the Atlas V looks so simple and uncluttered. It was beautiful!

Atlas V on the pad - August 4, 2011

Posing with the rocket - August 4, 2011

Bright and early on the morning of Friday, August 5, I arrived at the designated hotel to catch the KSC bus. When pulling into the hotel's parking lot looking for a parking spot while trying to get around the buses, I nearly ran over a man picking up his car at the hotel entrance. It was Charlie Bolden, the NASA Administrator!

We were taken to the Operational Support Building II (OSB-II) near the Vehicle Assembly Building to watch the launch from the fifth floor terrace, a location I had never seen a launch from before. Just prior to the morning briefing, I got a chance to meet Charlie Bolden and get a picture with him. He laughed when I apologized about nearly running him over. The briefing was pretty basic, just a general overview of the Juno spacecraft and mission as well as inspirational and good vibe messages of support. The head of the Italian Space Agency was there as well as a lot of other foreign delegates.

Meeting Charlie Bolden - August 5, 2011

After the briefing, we went outside on the terrace to wait. It was so hot out! We sat in the shade when we could, but that only helped a little. After they kept announcing countdown holds because of various problems (a ground helium leak and a boat in the restricted waters), we went back inside to cool off. Once the countdown resumed, we got a good spot at the balcony. I counted down the last ten seconds. It was so cool to see an Atlas V rocket launch from that close! I was surprised that the rocket lifted off so quickly compared to space shuttles. That rocket in particular has a lot of thrust, but the weight of the payload is light so it can get to Jupiter in a reasonable amount of time.

Juno lift-off! - August 5, 2011

Juno on its way to Jupiter - August 5, 2011

Next week, on July 4, 2016, Juno will “arrive” at Jupiter at long last. Congratulations to the Juno mission team, the scientists who are awaiting this data, and the ULA team that launched it safely there!

Baby Josephine Congratulates SpaceX!

One more excited and adorable entry today: Baby Josephine congratulates SpaceX on a successful launch, landing, and Dragon deployment to the International Space Station. And congratulations to Bigelow Aerospace for finally launching the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM)!

Josephine's a little distracted during the launch. - April 8, 2016

Adding cuteness to your launch experience. - April 8, 2016

As for my close-up launch shots, I need to learn how to properly use my new telephoto lens. A night launch and a day launch have been foiled by my inexperience with it so far! I'll shoot the next one.

COLLIDE-ing Suborbital Science with Blue Origin

I usually don’t blog on the weekend. I’m usually at the ice skating rink at this time on a Saturday. But amazing feats of science and engineering don’t limit themselves to weekday work hours. Right now, I’m geeking out to the latest successful launch and landing by private rocket company Blue Origin!

After I earned my master’s degree in high-energy astrophysics in Huntsville, I switched over to “experimental planetary science” (my phrasing) at the University of Central Florida with Dr. Josh Colwell as my advisor.

Josh was working on a number of projects, but one that caught my attention was the study of how space and planetary dust (regolith) interact at very low velocities. When the grains or clumps collide, do they stick together, bounce, break apart, or what? Most of what could do in the lab in 1 g (Earth’s gravity) was even faster than we wanted to observe. We built a drop tower in the lab to examine our experiment in microgravity, but our short tower only allowed less than a second of free fall. We wanted more. I flew on two parabolic aircraft campaigns with Josh to gain a few more seconds of microgravity per parabola. But still, we wanted more.

Josh had flown an experiment on orbit on the International Space Station, COLLIDE, Collisions Into Dust Experiment. He was preparing another version of COLLIDE to fly suborbitally on a Blue Origin experimental rocket. I was intrigued by the partnership with an emerging commercial space company. For my first year and a half in the lab, I participated in teleconferences with Blue and worked on preparing the experiment for launch. The engineering students on our team did most of the work, but I was pleased and excited to participate in any way I could.

A COLLIDE box in foreground, the original COLLIDE in background, and me recording something. - February 2011

But in 2011, Blue Origin’s test rocket malfunctioned and was destroyed. Our chance to fly COLLIDE with Blue was postponed indefinitely. We were all disappointed, but that’s the way it works in the space industry. This stuff is hard and set-backs happen.

I’ve been out-of-the-loop with the experiment since leaving UCF. But yesterday, I heard the exciting news that COLLIDE would launch soon. And this morning, it did just that. Blue Origin’s rocket New Shepard launch and landed successfully in Texas.

We’re all currently awaiting the release of the official video of the successful test. I’m awaiting news of how my grad school team’s experiment fared. Knowing first-hand just how tricky those experiment boxes can be, I’m crossing fingers and hoping for the best.

The official Blue Origin COLLIDE video can be seen here:

I will update this entry with the official Blue Origin rocket video once it’s published. But first, ice skating.

Space Baby Congratulates SpaceX on Another Successful Launch

Space Shuttles: Launching my Love of Human Spaceflight

I was a relative late-comer to space shuttle launches. I grew up in Pennsylvania, so I didn't see my first launch until I moved to Florida for college. I attended Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne for undergraduate, nearly an hour south of Kennedy Space Center, but still offering clear views of launches.

My first was STS-112. I drove up to KSC with two friends, only to be turned away of course because we weren't badged. We tried a nearby viewing site, but it was full. We ended up on the side of the road by the water, staring up in awe as a car radio blasted the countdown. I remember thinking that someday I wanted to see a launch from inside the space shuttle.

STS-112, October 7, 2002

My second was a month later, STS-113. I was thrilled to be allowed to cover that launch for the university student newspaper from the KSC press site! It was a night launch, my favorite, and the night seemed perfect. Unfortunately, the first attempt was scrubbed, so we returned the next evening. Unlike this year's record breaking hot November, it was cold, see our breath cold. I was surprised at how bright the launch was and how much the world shook. The bright ball of light faded away into a star-like point. I thought that it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

STS-113, November 23, 2002

Space Shuttle Columbia's last flight, STS-107, was the day before my birthday. Unfortunately, a new school semester kept me preoccupied. I figured that since I had seen my first two launches up close, I could watch this one from campus farther away. I was in my car when it launches and I didn't take any photos, though I did take a picture of the Columbia flag at a Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex birthday visit.

STS-107 Columbia Flag, January 2003

I was still sleeping in my dorm room on the morning of Saturday, February 1, 2003 when I was awoken to the sad news. Our entire university body took the incident hard. We held a vigil for the astronauts that evening. Later that year, as a sophomore, the brand new dorm complex where I lived was named Columbia Village in dedication. As a Student Ambassador and the Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper, I was a student representative at the dedication ceremony, sitting at a lunch table with Laurel Clark’s sister-in-law and son. It was a very emotional experience.

Columbia Village dedication, Florida Institute of Technology, October 28, 2003 

There was a large gap in shuttle launches until the STS-114 Return to Flight mission. I was fortunate to be attending a NASA internship in Huntsville that summer and I arranged for our internship program to take a trip to Florida in part to see that launch. Thanks to the generosity of astronaut Winston Scott (now of Florida Institute of Technology) who ran the Florida Space Authority, the precursor organization to Space Florida, our student group received bleacher tickets at the Kennedy Space Center Saturn V Center right next to the VIP section. I remember lots of secret service agents in the area watching over First Lady Laura Bush who was accompanying Florida Governor Jeb Bush. The view from Banana Creek was one of my favorite launch viewing locations for its beauty.

STS-114 Discovery on launch pad , July 2005

STS-114, July 26, 2005

Circumstances prevented more launches until a second Return to Flight mission, STS-121, a year later on Independence Day. I had graduated from undergraduate and moved to Huntsville, and that year I was helping to run the NASA internship program. I arranged for another trip to Florida for the student group. A friend of mine who worked on base advised us to park near the Vehicle Assembly Building and climb 100 feet up to watch the launch on top of a mobile launch platform. Because of our height, it was the closest and clearest launch I had ever seen.

STS-121, July 4, 2006

Unfortunately, my move to Huntsville for my master's degree led me to miss seeing in person many launches to come. It wasn't until I moved back to Florida for my doctoral education that I was able to witness the beauty in person once again. STS-130 was my next, another night launch. I watched this one with new friends at Space View Park in Titusville. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my camera in the car and I didn't have a smartphone back then.

STS-131 was an early morning launch, and again, I forgot my camera. I remember it being beautiful in the dark pre-daen sky.

I saw STS-132 again with friends at Space View Park, this time with camera!

STS-132, May 14, 2010

STS-133 was a long time coming. I watched with a classmate at the now-relocated Astronaut Hall of Fame right outside of Kennedy Space Center. We had fun checking out the exhibits while we waited. Astronaut Bob Springer was the guest speaker. It was a beautiful day for a launch.

Unfortunately, the third-to-last space shuttle launch was the last that I saw. I was flying off to Huntsville for a conference when the delayed STS-134 soared. The last launch, STS-135, was pushed back such that I was still in Pennsylvania for family gatherings and a family reunion over the Independence Day holiday when it launched.

By that point, the space shuttle program had become part of who I was. Although I never worked the program, I feel just as connected to the shuttles as those who did. I cried the first three times I witnessed the KSC Visitor Complex's Atlantis Exhibit. I understand and agree with the decision to end the program to move forward, but I still fondly remember the past glories.

Kennedy Space Center's Atlantis Exhibit, June 22, 2013

Perseverance: Steadfastness in Doing Something Despite Difficulty or Delay in Achieving Success

Yesterday, I witnessed my first rocket launch from a boat. I also witnessed my first rocket failure, along with the loss of many science payloads that were being shipped to the International Space Station. One of those projects, Meteor, the first project proposal that I reviewed when I started working at CASIS, has now been lost twice – during last October's Orbital rocket incident and again yesterday. Bad luck!

I've taken a day to measure how I feel about what I saw. It would have been different if there had been a naked-eye visible explosion with a giant boom, as there would certainly have been if this were a movie. But the way it happened – the rocket was there and then it disappeared – was so subtle that I missed the event entirely and didn't know that a loss had occurred until several minutes later when I regained internet connection. I had to consult my photos to confirm that I had indeed been looking at the sky around the time of the incident, though I'm not sure what my camera captured was actually the explosion and debris. Better trained eyes than mine can judge.

Rocket debris or cloud? I'm not sure. - June 28, 2015

I've seen video of one of the last rocket launch failures that the Space Coast experienced, a Delta II in 1997 that dramatically exploded and rained debris down on the land, causing brush fires. The last launch failures that this area has seen were in August 1998, a few weeks before I began taking high school physics living outside of Philadelphia. Even Space Shuttle Columbia's landing wasn't an incident for us in Florida to witness, but to miss. Aside from the videos I've seen, I don't know what it means to lose a rocket during launch.

The day was picture-perfect. Friends Ryan and Jen offered to give me a ride on their sailboat to see the launch from Banana River, the lagoon that lies next to Cape Canaveral and flows to the Atlantic Ocean. Not only had I never seen a launch from on the water, I had never even been on the water in that area. We sailed past the larger boats into the no motor area, surrounded by silence and a few dolphins in the distance.

Their dog wanted to watch the launch, too. - June 28, 2015

It was a beautiful launch, initially! - June 28, 2015

The SpaceX Falcon 9 soaring off the pad. - June 28, 2015

I got emotional during every space shuttle launch, especially after the Columbia incident. Each time we light one of those astronaut-carrying rockets, we put human lives at risk. I still say a prayer for uncrewed rockets, but the emotional weight isn't the same for me. If I had a payload that I spent years on strapped to a controlled explosive, I might feel differently. But material goods are replaceable; people are not. I was more upset over last October's Virgin Galactic test failure that lost a pilot than I was about the Orbital Antares CSR-3 failure.

Having worked on International Space Station payloads, I do mourn the loss of Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission supplies and experiments. It's a shame about Meteor, it's a shame about all those student experiments, it's a shame about the new equipment that was lost. As a scientist, I've experienced small experiment losses. I fried a few hundred dollar laser the first time I used it a few years back. Most of the lost equipment are orders of magnitude more expensive and harder to replace. But they are replaceable. They will rebuild. Some of these experiments may even be refined to become better than they were.

SpaceX will bounce back from its Falcon 9 failure, despite political pressures and industry nay-sayers. Rocket failures are inevitable. SpaceX experienced quite a number of them in their early years. In the United States especially, we take for granted that our experienced engineers will get the rockets successfully off the ground every single time. We can't get any mode of transportation to work perfectly 100% of the time, and we can never fully account for human error. This is hard work, and I have a great deal of respect for those who dedicate their lives to it.

Hats off to you, SpaceX, for attempting the ambitious time and time again. You go, scientists, students and professionals alike, who are undeterred by experimental setbacks. Kudos to you, engineers and support staff, for working long hours to launch and working long hours to analyze the launch. Let's keep moving forward!

The Falcon 9 will soar again. - June 28, 2015

Secret Spaceplane, Sun-Powered Spaceships, and Bill Nye the Science Guy Inspiration

Atlas V AFSPC-5 Launch - May 20, 2015

Late spring mornings make for great launch days! I was up at the Cape to witness the ULA Atlas V launch of the AFSPC-5 mission, also known as the Air Force's secretive Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle spaceplane. It was flawless.

I'll admit a weakness of mine: I have no sense of direction. I was staring at the wrong pad when this bird took off. By the time I realized it, the rocket was too high in the sky to get the pretty landscape shot I wanted. Next time! I do love rocket trails, though.

Late spring mornings are also lovely times to sunbath in the water. Some tourists speaking a foreign language pointed this big alligator out as I drove along the NASA Causeway and I couldn't resist pulling over for a look. I must admit, peeking out to watch the launch from the water sounds wonderfully refreshing.

Can you spot the gator eyes?

This rocket also carried the Planetary Society's LightSail spacecraft. When I was working at Marshall Space Flight Center, I had the pleasure of knowing a NASA scientist working on solar sail technology and touring his lab. Light is make up of photons, and these energetic photons can exert pressure known as radiation pressure. Photons from our Sun, for example, can push a spacecraft similar to how wind pushes a boat's sails, hence the name solar sail.

Future LightSail mssions will test this propulsion method. Today's launched LightSail spacecraft will test the satellite systems in preparation for the real thing, hopefully in a year. I had the pleasure of meeting the Chief Operating Officer of of the Planetary Society on Sunday who is in town for the launch. I wish the Planetary Society all the best!

The Planetary Society's more public face, Bill Nye, is in town as well, though I didn't catch him this trip. I've met him twice or thrice before, most recently at a Planetary Society gathering for the MAVEN launch to Mars in 2013. Admittedly I've never seen an episode of The Science Guy and had never even heard of the show until a few years ago, so I see Bill Nye as educator rather than a celebrity, but it's still neat to see how he inspires others.

In November 2013, Bill Nye gave a talk at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex before we Planetary Society visitors and guests gathered on buses for a Cape tour and up-close look at MAVEN's Atlas V. He had quite a crowd gathered around him at all times, people of all ages! That same evening I gave a public science talk at the Planetary Society's Science Cafe event following Bill Nye's impromptu remarks, and he's a hard act to follow! It's a beautiful thing when science celebrities can inspire the public. I may not know his TV personality, but I admire his dedication to science education and advocacy. 

MAVEN / Atlas V on the launch pad - Nov. 17, 2013

Dragons and Synthetic Muscle Fire Off to Space

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch, April 14, 2015

Godspeed, SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule! I love living on the Space Coast and seeing launches with my own eyes. Although nothing beats humans soaring into the skies, I love witnessing science happen in space. And who doesn't love the fire and the roar?

I previously wrote about my role as a Scientific Research Analyst at the Center for the Advancement ofScience in Space. CASIS has four payloads on-board this Dragon and I'm so proud to have played a tiny role in one of them.

CASIS partnered with MassChallenge, a start-up competition and incubator program. Some of the competitors had great ideas to conduct research in space for the benefit of life on Earth. During the MassChallenge judging period, my job ramped up to a crazy degree! We were given several projects at once to evaluate and not much time before the winners were chosen. My department was a mad house at that time, working to find suitable subject matter experts in a large diversity of subjects to fairly evaluate all of the proposals submitted to us. We shined!

One proposal I had the pleasure of working on was by Ras Labs, a company that develops synthetic muscle for amputees. Ras Labs proposed to test their synthetic muscle electroactive polymers in space where radiaton exposure is greatly increased. By testing the radiation resistance of the material, Ras Labs can be confident that its products are safe for extreme environments on Earth. This proposal was awarded and today it flies to space. It's so rewarding to see it off!

It was a lovely day for a launch!

My Husband's First Launch - The Bright Beauty

Those who live on the Space Coast or near another active spaceport know all to well that rocket launch schedules are notoriously unset. Launches can be delayed for technical reasons to do with the rocket, the payload, or the range or launch infrastructure. Launches can be delayed for nontechnical reasons such as the weather or a stray boat being where it shouldn't be. Unless the plans you're making are very flexible, never make plans around a scheduled rocket launch. Especially flights.

I missed the last SpaceX Falcon 9 launch on March 1 despite being in Florida. My flight arrived into the Orlando Airport half an hour before launch, but taking into account the plane de-boarding process and the time it takes to walk outside, I just missed it. I viewed the live webstream on my phone instead. It looked like a beautiful launch!

My husband's flight arrived late last night into Orlando. I opted for curb-side pick-up rather than parking to speed up the process of us getting out of there. Still, we made it to our home on the coast with 10 minutes to spare, no time to drive closer to the Cape. I live over half an hour south from the launch pads, so my backyard isn't the closest location, but it's not too bad either. To the backyard we went!

The ULA Atlas V went up flawlessly, as usual. This was my husband's first witnessing of a rocket launch. He thought it was beautiful. He said it was brighter than he expected. The bright circle at the top of the photo is not a full moon, that's the rocket. Night launches are my favorite; they are artificial sunrises. I promised him that we'll see the next launch from much closer where he can really see the shape of the rocket and hear the roar of the engines. We still heard the faint roar last night, enough to make me smile. I love living on the Space Coast!

The mission of the payload is pretty cool as well. NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale mission will study Earth's magnetosphere and the interaction with the solar wind. Awesome!