FOXSI's successful flight!

I've now spent almost a month in the desert, and I've never seen it from this perspective before.

"This perspective" is 200 feet above the ground, staring at the white desert sands from the jump seat on an open-sided helicopter as we fly to the landing site of the FOXSI rocket to recover the payload.

FOXSI flew today, and it was one of the most exhilarating experiences I've known.  Considering nothing else, witnessing the launch of a space-capable rocket would be enough to make a day exceptional.  Participating in the flight, turning on the instrument, and making decisions about the flight in real time makes the day one to never forget.

To say there were tense times would be an understatement.  Data coming back mid-flight showed discouraging results and we had to switch to all of our backup emergency targets before seeing an unambiguous X-ray image that we could interpret.  To understand this harrowing process, see my previous post on the challenges of making split-second decisions!

Once we finally saw it, the X-ray image was unmistakable, and we knew our mission was a success.

More details will follow (I promise!) telling you all about the experience, but for now I'd like to thank all the coworkers, family, and friends who gave such crucial support during some very tough times in putting this mission together.  In particular, without Andy Sybilrud I am sure this flight would not have had such success, and the FOXSI experiment owes much to him!