Author Topic: SpaceX Falcon 9 v. 1.1 - Jason 3 - Vandenberg - Launch Viewing  (Read 74447 times)

Offline QuantumG

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Welcome to the forum. I have a coworker who lives in Thousand Oaks but he'd be much too busy to be out watching a rocket launch ;)
Human spaceflight is basically just LARPing now.

Offline Jim

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There are other vehicles with better visibility than Falcon.
« Last Edit: 01/17/2016 10:17 pm by Jim »

Offline xyv

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Was up at Santa Ynez peak.  A few seconds between breakout from the fog layer and disappearing into the upper cloud layer.  Managed to get a few hazy pictures - here is one enlarged a bit. 

Offline psloss

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The weather was much better for viewing yesterday.  Maybe a little offshore flow next time.

Question for anyone who might know: how big a crowd was that in the West Ocean Avenue area this morning?  It was the middle of a three-day weekend and listening to the end of the SpaceX webcast they hint at some people making the drive up from L.A.
« Last Edit: 01/17/2016 11:06 pm by psloss »

Offline Brovane

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Just got back from the launch "listening".  I was right near Ocean and 13th street.  I was parked behind a Semi carrying Liquid Nitrogen that was parked on the side of the road.  This was my first space launch.  Traveled from Orange County so it was about a 400 mile round trip.  I told my wife and children before the trip that it was a crap shot but we decided to go for it anyway.  I was glad we did and we will try again with another launch.  Was disappointed that we couldn't see anything but the important thing was the mission was successful.  I had solid service from Verizon before the launch but as the launch time approached my service degraded to the point that I couldn't really do anything online.  My friend with AT&T had the same experience.  The cell towers were probably over-loaded.  By the time it was launch time the Ocean blvd was crowded and it was even more fun trying to get out of there after the launch. 

Is there another way out of area from Ocean and 13th street after the launch besides heading back into Lompoc on Ocean?  While we sat in the traffic we kept seeing cars u-turning across the Meridian and heading back toward's 13th street and I couldn't figure out were they were going.  It looked like they were turning right onto 13th street but there is a base gate right up the road.  So unless they had base access I was trying to figure it out.  I was just patient and waited for the traffic to start moving, which it eventually did. 
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

Offline NovaSilisko

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There are other vehicles with better visibility than Falcon.

What launcher in what configuration would you say has the best visibility from Vandenberg, in your experience?

Offline Bubbinski

Here's a screen cap from my Go Pro at Ocean & Renwick when it launched.
« Last Edit: 01/17/2016 11:28 pm by Bubbinski »
I'll even excitedly look forward to "flags and footprints" and suborbital missions. Just fly...somewhere.

Offline Jim_LAX

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Brovane:  I had the same experience with disappearing internet access at launch time through my new Verizon phone, even though the LTE signal remained fairly strong.  I think we all swamped the internet connection at the local cell towers.   :(  Still, I enjoyed the "tail gating" experience with a rocket launch instead of a sports event.  Will bring food and chairs next time!
"I don't go along with going to the Moon first in order to build a launch pad to go to Mars.  We should go to Mars from Earth orbit."

Offline Gliderflyer

I was parked behind a Semi carrying Liquid Nitrogen that was parked on the side of the road. 

I must have been right next to you. I got a short video of the sound, but there wasn't even a orange glow through the clouds. Guess I'm coming back out for the next one!
I tried it at home

Offline Lars-J

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There are other vehicles with better visibility than Falcon.

What launcher in what configuration would you say has the best visibility from Vandenberg, in your experience?

Anything with solid boosters should be easier to see.

Offline Brovane

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I was parked behind a Semi carrying Liquid Nitrogen that was parked on the side of the road. 

I must have been right next to you. I got a short video of the sound, but there wasn't even a orange glow through the clouds. Guess I'm coming back out for the next one!

You must have been right on the corner of Ocean and 13th street judging the angle.  We were in the tan conversion van parked behind the semi.  Yeah I was disappointed that there wasn't even a orange glow.  There was a photographer right next to me from the OC Register and he wasn't able to get anything useful. 
« Last Edit: 01/17/2016 11:44 pm by Brovane »
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

Offline Jim_LAX

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GliderFlyer:  I was across the street and 100 yards farther South.  Manoweb was another 100 yards South of me.  I put signs in the side windows of my truck saying Jim_LAX, but we need a better way to identify each other.  Yes?
"I don't go along with going to the Moon first in order to build a launch pad to go to Mars.  We should go to Mars from Earth orbit."

Offline Brovane

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GliderFlyer:  I was across the street and 100 yards farther South.  Manoweb was another 100 yards South of me.  I put signs in the side windows of my truck saying Jim_LAX, but we need a better way to identify each other.  Yes?

Anyone for a Delta IV heavy?

There is a Delta IV Medium in February.

It might help if the people that going PM each other and exchange cell phone #s so we can Txt each other when we arrive. 
« Last Edit: 01/17/2016 11:51 pm by Brovane »
"Look at that! If anybody ever said, "you'll be sitting in a spacecraft naked with a 134-pound backpack on your knees charging it", I'd have said "Aw, get serious". - John Young - Apollo-16

Offline oiorionsbelt

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There are other vehicles with better visibility than Falcon.

What launcher in what configuration would you say has the best visibility from Vandenberg, in your experience?

Anything with solid boosters should be easier to see.
Right now, no other rocket is even close to having the visibility that F9 has.


Offline Gliderflyer

GliderFlyer:  I was across the street and 100 yards farther South.  Manoweb was another 100 yards South of me.  I put signs in the side windows of my truck saying Jim_LAX, but we need a better way to identify each other.  Yes?

Anyone for a Delta IV heavy?

There is a Delta IV Medium in February.

It might help if the people that going PM each other and exchange cell phone #s so we can Txt each other when we arrive.

I might be down for that, depending on how busy work is. I was wearing my NSF hat today, but nobody recognized it. We should setup a designated meet place beforehand.
I tried it at home

Offline Jim_LAX

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Maybe a flashing "Blue Lite Special" like Kmart used to have?
"I don't go along with going to the Moon first in order to build a launch pad to go to Mars.  We should go to Mars from Earth orbit."

Offline manoweb

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Another option could be a whatsapp or hangout chat the people join even days before - even if internet was very unreliable, I was able to "hanghout" chat with my friends in other continents.

Greeting to everybody, it was a fantastic experience anyway. Made new good friends!

Did anybody notice the cows running away when the rumble started? :D

Online Comga

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There are other vehicles with better visibility than Falcon.

What launcher in what configuration would you say has the best visibility from Vandenberg, in your experience?

Anything with solid boosters should be easier to see.

Doesn't someone have the tag line that "solids are a branch of fireworks"?
That really applies comparing an Atlas V 411 to a Falcon 9 "R". 
The "fireworks" might be easier to spot, but they won't have greater "visibility" by some definitions.

(Note my favorite launch viewing was was an Atlas V 551, and the "display" was not great, only ~30 seconds.)
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline Bubbinski

Here's a shortened version of the video and audio I got of the launch from Ocean & Renwick. Nothing to see, but plenty to hear!  It was exciting in its own right to listen to that rumble, and it was great to meet a number of fellow enthusiasts.  It was like a mini-Woodstock out there for space geeks. 

And now I've taken 6 launch trips, gotten 6 launches out of them.  If any space organization wants to hire me as their launch attendance good luck charm I'm listening ;)

I'll even excitedly look forward to "flags and footprints" and suborbital missions. Just fly...somewhere.

Offline ArbitraryConstant

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Question for anyone who might know: how big a crowd was that in the West Ocean Avenue area this morning?
Looked like back to back cars pulled over on both sides for at least a mile.

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