Thursday, October 8, 2009

Somehow I Get Paid To Do This

Photo Credit: ULA

Today I supported my second launch, Worldview-2 off SLC-2w at 281:18:51:00. And with it I realized things are really settling into place. I handled most of the processing myself, with only a glitch in creating archives thanks to the calibration files.

Work is still going really well. The lab is shaping up to be a great group of guys, and we always manage to have a good time, even if it is 6 am and we've been at work since 1 am. I'm learning how to wrestle patch panels, play back 12'' analog tapes, and deal with data recording. My lab lead has taught me all this in a very Olin style of spiral learning. The second I figure out what I'm doing in one area of the data station I'm tossed into the next. I have a feeling I'll soon be dealing with the decommutators for our live data streams. I am thankful I learned how to swim in the deep end early on in life since panic has been minimal at each new turn.

I'm meeting with Ben over lunch on Monday since despite settling in to work, I still need the best outside voice I have found. After STSS Demo Ben sent a surprise "Congratulations" email which was one of the best congratulations I got. He has also been an amazing amount of help with the move and my general, "so I'm now living in Colorado, how do I?" questions. I still cannot believe it has been over two years since I first met him. I am amazingly lucky to have such an awesome mentor in my life.

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