NASA
At 5:46 AM, Pacific Daylight Time tomorrow, a Delta II rocket is set to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California...carrying NASA's ICESat-2 spacecraft to a polar orbit around the Earth. What makes this flight special, and sad, is that this is the final flight of the Delta II vehicle before it is retired for good. I was pondering for the last two months about whether or not I should make the drive to Ventura County (where Vandenberg is located) to watch the Delta II soar into the sky one last time. Ultimately, and unfortunately, I decided not to go since I've been strapped financially for much of 2018 and can't afford to spend cash on gas, hotel room and other expenses if I made the trip to Central California. Considering the fact that the weather is currently 100% 'GO' for liftoff on Saturday morning, it seems like the rocket gods are trying to make me regret my decision. Here's hoping that some type of minor mechanical issue will crop up that'll delay the Delta II's launch a few days—just to ease my guilt of not going!
To honor the venerable Delta II, here are photos of the four vehicles that launched NASA spacecraft which had my name as well as those of thousands of others on them:
- TOP PHOTO: A Delta II rocket carrying the comet-bound Deep Impact spacecraft (whose now-obliterated impactor held a CD containing the names of 625,000 people, including mine) launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida on January 12, 2005.
- PHOTO DIRECTLY BELOW: A Delta II rocket carrying the Mars-bound Phoenix lander (whose DVD holds the names of 250,000 people, including mine) launched from CCAFS on August 4, 2007.
- SECOND PHOTO FROM THE BOTTOM: A Delta II rocket carrying the asteroid and dwarf planet-bound Dawn space probe (whose microchip is imprinted with the names of 365,000 people, including mine) lifted off from CCAFS on September 27, 2007.
And last, but definitely not least...
- THE PHOTO AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS ENTRY: A Delta II vehicle carrying the exoplanet-hunting Kepler space telescope (whose DVD is encoded with the names and messages of 60,000 people, including mine) departed from CCAFS on March 6, 2009.
All I can say is, when the day comes that the Atlas V rocket (which sent the Curiosity Mars rover, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the MAVEN spacecraft and InSight Mars lander—which all have my name on them as well—to their deep-space destinations over the past decade) is about to be retired, I'll definitely make the effort to see its final launch in person. Assuming, of course, that its last flight also takes place from Ventura County. Whether or not its final payload is an interplanetary NASA spacecraft or a classified military satellite won't matter. I just want to see one of these marvels of human engineering leave Earth's atmosphere in person before it's grounded permanently. Have a great weekend!
NASA
NASA
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