Notes from the Field

Look over this infographic if you want to understand the science various Landsat satellites have been producing for 40+ years.

I’m standing in an isolated clearing at Vandenberg Air Force Base  in California on February 11, 2013, holding an enormous weather balloon. Just as I’m about to let it go, it’s tugging on my arm with four pounds of force. “Ten seconds. Five. Release Lima 5.” As the balloon shoots up, I crane my head […]

Wondering how the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is doing after its launch last week?  The mission’s project office posted an update yesterday and the news is good. The LDCM Mission Operations Team successfully completed the first phase of spacecraft activation. All spacecraft subsystems have been turned on, including propulsion, and power has been supplied […]

Thurs. Feb. 7, 2013. Four Days Before Launch, Embassy Suites, Lompoc, Calif. After arriving at my hotel for my first rocket launch, I started loading up my plate at Sonny’s complimentary breakfast. Not knowing anyone, I walked up to a nearby group of strangers and asked if I could sit down. As it turns out, […]

It felt a bit like I had wandered into an exclusive Silicon Valley pool party. There were palm trees, deck chairs, even a heated pool that was steaming in the morning chill. Bobak Ferdowsi  (a.k.a. the “NASA Mohawk guy”) of Mars Curiosity fame was milling around. Camilla, the ever-adventurous SDO-obsessed rubber chicken, was posing for […]

The atmosphere was electric at Providence Landing Park in Lompoc, California as the first stage of an Atlas 5 rocket ignited in the distance on February 11, 2013. Cheers erupted at 10:02 a.m. from the hundreds of people gathered there as the rocket rose, gathered itself, then surged into a perfect blue sky over Vandenberg […]

The computer system used to register visitors to Vandenberg Air Force Base wasn’t cooperating when I stopped by to get my ID approved yesterday. That meant I had plenty of time to chat with the two military police officers on duty. I learned two surprising things from them. 1) The base, particularly the beach area, […]

Count it among the things I never thought I would ever do in my lifetime—get up close to a loaded rocket that will carry a satellite into space in less than two days. When your launch is on a Monday, the weekend is still busy, busy, busy. But Saturday morning two days before launch, a […]

Editor’s note: In the coming days, we’ll update this page with the most interesting quotes we hear about Landsat 8 (The Landsat Data Continuity Mission). The newest quotes will go on the top. When we’re inspired, we’ll talk back. “I’m excited to look at the imagery because it’s going to be sharper than we dealt […]

Today is a big day. I just arrived in Los Angeles from DC this afternoon, and I’m heading to Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California, to see an Atlas 5 rocket blast Landsat 8 into space. Officially, the satellite is called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) until it reaches orbit safely, but I’m […]