GeoEye-1 Launch in 35 days!

And I'm super excited! Why? I work for GeoEye on the GeoEye-1 program and it's the first launch I've participated in this actively in a decade. I'll be in our control center on launch day, mostly because my responsibility for the past 3 and a half years has been the development of all the ground systems responsible for the command and control of the satellite.

My career has primarily been in software related to controlling the satellites which means that I never get to do anything even cooler like see the launch live or even see the rocket. In 13 years of aerospace, I've in fact never seen a real rocket before or live launch. That was, until last Friday, when I got to visit Vandenberg AFB and see our DeltaII that's going to carry GeoEye-1 to orbit. Not only that, my timing was PERFECT and I had an opportunity to see the rocket up close and personal. Check out this picture:

Next to me is Dave, my significant other, who works on the program too. Next to us is the rocket! For those of us who spend our careers in satellite control centers, this was literally a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Now we've got 35 days do to finish our preparations which mainly involves practicing how we "fly the bird" over and over and over. I actually get to sit back a lot and make sure folks know how to use my software systems and offer advice, encouragement and occasional bits of knowledge.

If you want to watch the launch yourself, go here: http://launch.geoeye.com/LaunchSite/