People send me stuff. A few weeks ago, I got an email inviting me to apply for NASA press credentials at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the launch of GOES-S advanced Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-S on March 1st.
…A recent tweet from NOAA about the upcoming launch:
Can you feel it? The excitement, it's in the air. This was the moment #GOESEast launched into space on Nov. 19, 2016. Next week we get to live it again, as her sister satellite #GOESS (#GOES17) rockets into orbit from @NASAKennedy on March 1. Info: https://t.co/fiZrg7mgB5 pic.twitter.com/rTCjYhxMWQ
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) February 20, 2018
More on the mission here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/goes/
At first, when I got the invitation to apply, I did a double take, and thought it must be a mistake, and then I thought, maybe somebody is playing a joke on me. Then after researching it, I realized it was a genuine opportunity. Apparently, all those times I’ve written about hurricanes, weather, and space technology outweighed all those times that I questioned NASA’s stance on climate change. Apparently, in addition to the traditional media channels, NASA is now making an outreach to social media, and not just the traditional print and electronic media. It sure beats NASA’s much maligned “muslim outreach“, so, I applied.
This is what I recently got back after applying. Shockingly, I was approved.
From: HQ-Social
Sent: Friday, February 02, 2018 6:34 AM
To: HQ-Social
Subject: GOES-S Social Selection
Congratulations! Recently you applied for social media credentials to attend the launch of the next generation geostationary weather satellite, GOES-S, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We are pleased to let you know that your application has been approved to attend the event. Liftoff is targeted for approximately 5:02 pm on March 1.
The event will take place over two days, targeted for no earlier than February 28 through March 1. Registration location and time will be communicated to you once you have applied for credentials in the online system.
Please read this entire e-mail carefully for instructions on securing your spot and planning your attendance.
During the event, you will be provided with the opportunity to:
- Tour facilities at Kennedy Space Center
- Meet and interact with the scientists and engineers that made GOES-S and its instruments a reality
- Hear from NOAA and NASA GOES-S experts during a special pre-launch briefing
- View and take photographs of the ULA Atlas V rocket on the launch pad
- Meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media
- Meet members of NASA’s social media team
- View the launch of an ULA Atlas V rocket and the next generation geostationary weather satellite GOES-S.
…
So, there is also this part of the email, note the part is red that I have highlighted.
Registration indicates:
-
- You acknowledge your spot is for one person only (you) and is non-transferrable. We cannot accommodate guests.
- You acknowledge you are at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen.
- You intend to travel to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and attend the two-day event in person. You are responsible for your own expenses for travel, lodging, local transportation, food and other amenities. You also are responsible for your transportation to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
- You plan to attend the two-day event. Check-in is required on the first day of the event to receive your badge. If you do not check in on the first day of the event, you will forfeit your GOES-S Social registration for the remainder of the event. You must plan to attend all planned activities if you want to participate.
- VERY IMPORTANT: To be admitted, you are required to provide TWO unexpired forms of government-issued identification; one must be a photo ID that matches the name provided on the registration. Those without two forms of required identification will NOT be admitted.
Yep, just like the big guys at NYT and CNN, I’m expected to pay my own way. That’s traditional and not unreasonable, except that maybe NASA doesn’t realize that social media reporters often have no budget at all for such things.
And that’s why I’m writing today. Here’s a chance for WUWT to do something that is on par with those traditional print and electronic media folks who up until now, had a monopoly on “hands on reporting” at KSC. I’ve completed all of the requirements, and I’m just waiting for NASA to give me the location to arrive at. I’m hoping readers can chip in to help with costs.
Costs will be about $600 for airfare, about $600 for hotels (since I have to book for the entire launch window, because launch times often get delayed), a rental car at about $300, and probably another $250 for meals and expenses like parking at my departure airport. It adds up to about $2000. I can put it all on a credit card, but I’d really hope to avoid acquiring debt to embrace this opportunity. Here is the schedule: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/noaas-goes-s-briefings-and-events
Anything you can chip in will help. My sincere thanks in advance. – Anthony
UPDATE:
GOAL MET. THANKS TO EVERYONE !!!
UPDATE2: 2/22/18
I got my final instructions from NASA this morning, it’s a GO!
My sincerest thanks to everybody who chipped in, the goal was met and even exceeded a bit.
I’ll have lots of photos to share, and lots of questions to ask. Feel free to pose questions in comments below. – Anthony
Happy to make a donation – I’m sure you’ll get enough to make the trip. Enjoy!
Thanks, I hope so.
Recently you applied for social media credentials
****************************************************************
while it does not apply to you since you did apply THIS would have been key phrase for those who got it unexpectedly and had not applied.
This is a great opportunity for the WUWT community to contribute useful questions. You could learn a lot. The scientists and engineers are on their home turf and, if you don’t put their backs up, they are likely to give you details that wouldn’t normally come out.
True.
It has been quipped, “In times of stress engineers tend to blurt out the truth.”
Of course the answers you get may not be useful.
Not cheap to travel so far, but if I got an invite for a launch, it’d be an offer I couldn’t refuse….
Nice! It’s days like this you say to yourself “life it gooood”, I’m envious of you Mr. Watts!
I’ll put something in on pay day, take lots of pics and maybe a video of the launch!
Lance
You may have friends in unexpected places…
I went down to the cape to see the first Shuttle launch with my physics colleagues, then got my fill of launches at Vandenberg AFB in the mid-80’s. If they let you get close, at some point in your breathing cycle, the rumble will find a resonance mode in your lungs. That is what you’ll remember.
Ask how the instruments were calibrated and how they intend to maintain calibration.
It is not possible to completely calibrate instruments before launch. Nor does that completely describe the problem. The instruments must be calibrated, meaning we know what they are telling us, and also validated, meaning we know the instruments replicate ground truth. The whole effort is called “calibration/validation,” or “cal/val” in the business. It is an ongoing and very complex process for two reasons. First, the instruments are so sensitive that several instruments made within a single production block will have different performance. That means a unique cal/val effort for each spacecraft. Second, as the instruments age, their behavior changes, and the ground processing system must compensate for that.
For Anthony: launch is one of those things that must be experienced in person to truly appreciate. Video does not do it justice. If you ever get a chance to watch a dusk launch out of Vandenberg, TAKE IT! And hope the base isn’t socked in.
“It is an ongoing and very complex process…”
Actually, for the ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager), it is not that complex. On orbit, in the process of scanning the Earth, it ‘looks’ to two different temperature sources for calibration. For cold, it looks to space called a “Space Look”. Since space is considered ultimate cold, it should register the lowest reading on the instrument. For the hot side, there is what is called a ‘Blackbody’ thermal source that they point the mirror to so the heat energy is seen by the detectors. This Blackbody temperature is monitored by separate thermistors, regulated to 300K and that info is transmitted in the telemetry so the processing systems know what temperature to expect. Due to different structures within the ABI being different temperatures at different times of day (this is a 3-axis stabilized platform), the reading reported by the ABI for the Space Look & Blackbody will be different from the known temperature. The ground processing will ‘adjust’ what the ABI reports from these sources so the unknown radiances from the Earth scene will be correct. The IR dynamic range is from ‘Space Cold’ to 320K. The ABI also uses a Solar Calibration to ensure linearity across all the Visible channels.
Anthony ==> The Friends of WUWT are happy to pay for this…. 🙂
Doubleplusgood!
??? Did you apply? Sigh, if you didn’t NASA can’t even get a simple invite correct.
Oh well, not as bad as their other screwups
There were two communications from NASA. The first was an email inviting Anthony to apply. He applied and then the second communication came through saying “you recently applied” and included all the detailed info.
So the “you recently applied” in the second communication is correct because he did apply. However, that leaves the initial email which is interesting in itself because who, or what system of theirs deemed Anthony as ‘worthy’ to apply.
(I’m doing this comment just to clarify because there are two comments quoting the “recently applied” and appear to contradict each other, one saying Anthony did apply and the other questioning if he did. This prompted me to reread the first section of the post to be sure: he did apply, in response to the initial email invitation to apply.
Done
You are a gentleman and a scholar, Leif.
OK – tossed a $100 into the hat. I dio feel that we need to support you in these types of endeavors Anthony. The higher profile the blog and yourself get, the more the message spreads.
Ditto.
Donation completed. Have a great time! I look forward to your report on the event when you get back.
We’re retired, so we can’t donate as much as I’d like, but the recognition of you and your site as a valid, responsible news organization is worth it. Here’s hoping it’s part of a wider recognition of the fallacies of AGW (much less CAGW) on the part of the Trump administration.
I worked for and with NASA for over 25 years, and I will vouch personally for the fact that many, and maybe a majority (too much expression of politically unpopular views led to career stagnation if not dismissal [they’d seldom be so crass as to ‘fire’ you; they just eliminated your slot]), recognize the lack of science support of the dogma of the AGW ideology.
Donation just completed. Enjoy the trip.
Anthony,
Congratulations!
“Meet and interact with the scientists and engineers that made GOES-S and its instruments a reality”.
Perhaps you will be allowed to ask a few questions?
Thanks for all you do.
Regards,
Jim G1
Anthony, I live about an hour north of KSC. Have been following your blog since ’07 and have learned a lot. It would be great to meet you in person (if you can squeeze me into your schedule) to thank you personally for all your efforts to combat the fake news of CO2 induced AGW! I have an MS AeroSp Engr degree from PSU (’71) and am envious of your opportunity to access the inner circle. But I’ve lost all respect for NASA. These engineers know process control systems and that lagging parameters are NEVER driving functions! Email me if a lunch or dinner meeting is possible. Bill
And I’m over in the Tampa Bay area. Believe I still owe you a beer (or something) for something, so if you happen to be over here on the “left coast” of Florida, maybe we can get together?
Donation complete.
Awesome! Donation made.
Done! Perhaps your invitation reflects… ‘The Times – They Are A Changin!’
https://youtu.be/e7qQ6_RV4VQ
Love that song.
I’m happy to donate. My wife works for NESDIS, she deals with NASA all the time but she has nothing but contempt for NASA and the way they operate on a daily basis without any apparent care for the taxpayer, in her view. Me, I think they do really good things, and if they can be focused on space work instead of climate, they still carry many of our dreams. You represent a lot of people Anthony, I would encourage you to see if you can get some visibility with NASA’s new leadership. I’m sure I speak for the rest of us who would be happy to write to NASA on behalf of you and your awesome site. If Bill Nye can get face time because of the Planetary Society, I believe you should be able to as well. Enjoy, and take some pictures!!
Ah, the Planetary Society…I stopped donating to them the day they hired BIll Nye as their President and Spokesman. It would be great if Anthony can get some face time with NASA, he has much more to offer them than Bill Nye ever had.
I was a long time member of The Planetary Society until they hired Bill Nye. Why on earth would they do such a stupid thing?
Oh boy, I am having this non stop image now, playing in my mind like a youtube video, with this flash title:
“Ney meets Anthony Watts…on a launch pad.”
oh boy.
Oh, me culpa, is Nye, not Ney…thorry
For a while I got notices from The Planetary Society that they missed me and wanted me to rejoin. I ignore them for a while then finally replied that when they hired a real Astronomer as their president instead of a Children’s TV personality I would consider rejoining the organization. I don’t think I ever got a message from them since then. I would have even settled for Neil deGrasse Tyson…he is also an annoying TV personality but at least he knows something about Astronomy.
I truly can’t stand Nye, including with his association with the Planetary Society. I have been an amateur astronomer most of my life, so I knew about them, and used to listen to their podcast during my commute. On each podcast Nye has a 2-minute reserved segment for his “thoughts”, and he manages to sound like a pompous ass every single time, without adding any actually interesting content. Some time back he elevated his title to “CEO” of the Planetary Society, a title that he repeats himself on every broadcast. I would make a game of seeing whether Nye would bring up anything that was not about him, and it never happened. Finally gave up on the podcast too, I couldn’t stand the NPR-like production and all the proselytizing. Thankfully there is plenty of good astronomy content on the Pod-verse, and that does not include Tyson, another person thoroughly taken with himself. Each time I see him I change the channel. What is it with these people?
I threw in a small donation. Just went down to Florida to witness the Falcon Heavy launch. It does cost a bit.
Hope this helps.
Donated! Just $10… but if we all do that.
– We can’t know motivations but just wonder if it would have happened with the previous administration
OT: This is the genius of PayPal. Early on I would get so pissed at them for their machinations, I couldnt see straight but now they have quit trying to get me to pay interest to them, it is invaluable to me. The fewer databases have your CC info, the better.
Done!
Even if it is a small amount; have a glass of fresh squeezed orange on me!
Be sure to take pictures of any NASA/NOAA folks who recognize you! Especially, the panicking ones who need a change of clothes or those that run for the exits.
Not that we should expect any of the anti-science data manglers to attend real science exhibits.
It’s an event to give airlines. local hotels, local restaurants, and other local places more business — similar to sports events, where the city sponsors expect fans to come to town and spend their money.
Done. Have fun 🙂