Let's light this candle! Part 3

The QM-1 NASA Social group and Astronaut Stan Love.

The day began just as early as had the previous one, yet was very different - we were going to see the world's largest Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) test-fired. Though the people at Orbital ATK (OATK) had cautioned us that many people - space enthusiasts, locals, etc. - would likely make their way out to the public viewing area, I don't believe many of us in the Social group understood what that meant, or gave a lot of weight to it...but we would soon be shown that they knew what they were talking about.

What had been a dark and nearly solitary drive to the OATK facilities the previous day turned into a steady stream of vehicles forming a nearly unbroken line for many miles. While it was a bit heartwarming to know that interest in various aspects of the space program was still strong, I must admit that I was a bit concerned whether or not there'd be room for everyone.

People...lots and lots of people.

Luckily, the throng of vehicles was moving at a steady pace...and a great majority of them weren't going to the private OATK/NASA Social area...so all was well, right? Wrong. Oh, so very wrong. I haven't played musical chairs since I was a kid, but the frantic 'dance' to get a parking spot was a pretty close approximation to what happens in the mad scramble to grab a seat once the music stops. As the valid, lined spots filled, many people decided to settle for any available spot of asphalt. I was grateful that I successfully fought against the urge to hit the snooze button to get some more sleep - a delay of a few minutes might've meant the difference between getting a space or not.

Upon snagging one of the rapidly disappearing parking spots, I gathered my stuff and headed inside to the lobby. While waiting until time to board the bus, I took a moment to take a look around at the people that were milling about packed elbow-to-elbow: these weren't just some poor schlubs like myself...in the crowd were high-ranking military officials, industry big-wigs, and even a few astronauts! Although, in my mind, I *knew* the QM-1 event was a big deal, I'm not sure I quite realized how big of a deal it was until I saw these VIPs all in the same room. With me. Cool.

Colorful sunrise seen prior to heading to private
viewing area.

After a while, the room began to empty as people boarded the waiting buses that would take us to the private viewing area. We had a couple of stragglers still inside the building, but that gave us the opportunity to see a gorgeous sunrise from the windows of the bus. After the short delay, the bus departed and delivered us to the spot from where we would see the test-fire. Several members of the group, including me, headed to the viewing area as soon as we stepped off the bus so we could take some pictures of the booster, which was 1.25 miles (approx. 2.01 kilometers) away. Seeing how far away it was, there was a small concern that the event might not be as impressive as I thought. We'll revisit that concern in a bit. While I was examining the viewing area, one of our fellow NASA Social people came out to our group to say that there was a speaker in the NASA Social trailer waiting to talk to us.

One of these guys is cool, funny, super-smart,
and an astronaut. The other is me.

The NASA Social organizers had arranged for Astronaut Stan Love to speak with our group. While I have had the pleasure of listening to astronauts speak prior to this, I must say that Astronaut Love is - hands down - one of the most energetic, enthusiastic, engaging, entertaining, and interesting speakers I've yet to encounter. I hope that NASA and the Astronaut Office knows what a resource they have in Astronaut Love...I think he's an excellent representative of the organization and could help generate a lot of interest and excitement in crewed space flight.

Love was peppered with questions, running the gamut from history...to geo-political...to deep science...and even aliens. He performed deftly, and was quite candid in some of his responses...something for which I was immensely appreciative. Some of my favorite exchanges/responses (mostly paraphrased):

• Love: On my mission, I didn't exercise. I thought it wasn't really necessary for the short amount of time I was in space. However, upon returning to Earth, I'd lost 8 pounds of muscle from my legs. People, if you go to space, EXERCISE!
• Attendee: What do you think about cooperation with what might be geo-political foes?
  Love: It's cheaper than fighting them.
• <after discussing the enormous hurdle of life-support in deep space>
  Attendee: What do you think of Mars One?
  Love: <pause> I believe I have already answered that.

Love stayed with the group for much longer than had been arranged, even joining us on the trip up to the booster after the firing.

Pano of the 'Media' section of the viewing area. SRB is down the road.

With the Q&A session now over, it was time to move to the viewing area for the static fire test. The test had a multi-hour window in which to occur (permission is granted based on weather conditions - no one wants the exhaust/debris cloud to pass over populated areas) and was running a few minutes behind. We took the opportunity to chat with each other, and talk with those around us. One of our group, a high school teacher, took the time to set up a Skype call with her class as the clock ticked-down to the firing. Very cool, and I love her dedication - I would've loved to have had a teacher like that in high school.

As the clocked neared -01:00, I prepared my cameras - both my always-with-me iPhone and my old-but-trusty Nikon D50. The announcer counted down, and when he reached T-10 seconds, I began recording:

Just as thunder follows lightning, it took several seconds for the booster's roar to reach us (in the video, you can hear the announcer call "Plus five" just before you hear the booster). What followed was an impressive display of sight and sound. The booster's flame was so bright that looking at it for more than a short period of time wasn't recommended...and the sound of the booster was every bit as impressive as I thought it would be, counter to my earlier concerns. The burn lasted for slightly more than two minutes, right in-line with expectations.

After retiring to the trailer for lunch, the group was taken to the test area for some pictures and to be able to see the SRB from a much closer position. Stepping off the bus, the smell of spent rocket fuel was strong...but non unpleasant. OATK workers were busy securing the area, and we were restricted from approaching too closely, but there was no problem finding a good place from which to take pictures. Even though the test had occurred nearly two hours earlier, the area was still quite warm from the flames, and the aft portion of the booster was being sprayed with water to accelerate cooling. Fun fact: The deep layer of sand over the concrete structure below the booster is turned to glass from the intense heat of the flame.

All-too-quickly, we were rounded up and told to get back on the bus...thus drawing to a close the QM-1 NASA Social. I can't speak for others, but I had an exceptional time. Both NASA and Orbital ATK did an outstanding job of arranging an informative and entertaining event, and it's something I will remember for the rest of my life. I enjoyed reacquainting myself with some NASA Social alum from previous events, and loved meeting new and interesting people from this one.

I hope that you have learned something about NASA and/or the space program that you didn't know, and I appreciate the time you've taken to read this. I took a ton of pictures of the entire trip, and have shared them in a Flickr album as there was no practical way to include them in the blog entries - feel free to take a look. Until next time, thanks for reading.

Thanks for reading!