"Early Wednesday morning, rocket enthusiasts will have the lucky experience of being able to watch two launches at roughly the same time. Around 7:30AM ET, SpaceX is slated to launch one of its Falcon 9 rockets from the California coast, while European launch provider Arianespace will send up its Ariane 5 rocket from its South American spaceport in French Guiana. If all goes according to plan, the vehicles will launch around 15 minutes apart.
The SpaceX launch will be the seventh mission the company does for long-standing customer Iridium. SpaceX has a contract with Iridium to launch 75 satellites for the company’s Iridium NEXT constellation, which provides global telecommunications coverage. SpaceX has been launching these probes in batches of 10 (except for the sixth mission, which sent up five satellites). After this seventh flight, SpaceX only has one more group of satellites to launch, and then its job for Iridium will be complete.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is slated to take off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Southern California at 7:39AM ET. Following launch, SpaceX hopes to recover as much of the rocket as it possibly can right now. The rocket booster will attempt one of the company’s signature landings on a SpaceX drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. And a little while afterward, SpaceX will also try to catch the Falcon 9’s nose cone, or payload fairing, the bulbous structure that surrounds the satellites at the top of the rocket".
I wondered how many people watched the last one? Over 3 million. This seems like great news to know there are scientists and astronomers out there.
Last week I visited Brian's Lilycrest Gardens hybridizing field, and as I drove along 3rd Avenue Louth I found myself in the midst of hundreds of thousands of roses. It is the Bakker's rose growing field between 5th and 7th Street. Here's a partial view of it - this is 8 photos together in a panorama. It only covers a portion.
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