SDO has a launch date!

  Old news for those that follow this sort of thing, but it's exciting that the Solar Dynamics Observatory (the satellite that holds the instruments I worked on) has a "definite" launch date now after a year-plus of delays and schedule shuffling!  It's supposed to blast off on Feb. 3rd from Florida.  Hopefully I will get to go see it in person.

There's a neat video of the project with sound bytes from a lot of the NASA people I worked with over the last couple years on the SDO website.  Look at the right under "SDO Engineers Create What Never Was" because I guess that's what we do. (?)  The video direct link is here.  Bonus points for anyone who can spot the 2-3 occurrences of yours truly in the video.  I think I'm pretty obscured in a couple of them (ie @ 0:53 I'm behind the red metal piece).

Here's a cool picture of SDO's ride (an Atlas-V) arriving at the launch pad for vertical integration.  I'm just keeping my fingers crossed the thing doesn't blow up while getting the thing up to 7,000 mph...