GPS on Delta II- 20 Dec 07

[spacecat27]

It was a real nice day yesterday so decided to trek up to the Cape and catch the last launch of the year....
These were taken with a 10X zoom, about 4 miles from the pad.

[Johno]

And I'm still stuck with a government who's never going to grow a pair and build a space port for us!

'Course, even if they did it'd be far enough away that I couldn't just nip up and take a look (Cape York is the logical place, at least 5 hours by plane . .)

[Satanic Mechanic]

Great pictures as usual Spacecat.  Is it still humid in your area like last October?

SM

[madmax]

Having lived in Florida for 30 years I can say with great authority that it is always humid there.
I hear the same is true in Washington state.

[Satanic Mechanic]

I hear the same is true in Washington state.

On the westside, yes.  On the eastside where I am at, no.

SM

[spacecat27]

It's been unseasonably humid and warm- hit 83 today, probably same tomorrow--- but a major front is on the way and we might see 30's Tuesday & Wednesday night.  Really, I'd like to see a brief freeze come through and finally wipe out the 2007 mosquito crop!   

Hey, I feel for ya, Johno!  Think some of these space tourism outifts should seriously look at Australia to set up shop... fewer regulations, and pasengers paying hundreds of thousands or a mil plus for a ticket could certainly afford the air fare down under.

[DonPMitchell]

You can see I am catching up on messages.

Nice to see the Delta rockets in use.  Why can't Boeing and Lockheed make it in the commercial market?  Is it really that important to get the equatorial launch assist like Ariane and Zenit?  The rocket's themselves don't seem obviously inefficient or overly expensive, unless they are just priced to gouge the military.