NPP Tweetup schedule and launch timeline

This evening I'll be headed up to Lompoc, California, to participate in my first Tweetup along with 25 other Tweeters. The Tweetup will be all day tomorrow and includes briefings by NPP managers, scientists, and engineers, followed by a tour of the Mission Director's Center with George Diller. Diller's voice will be familiar to many of you; he's the one who always announces and commentates NASA's launches. After lunch we'll get a tour of Vandenberg Air Force Base, including the Western Range Operations Control Center, the Boathouse (where Delta rockets are delivered), and Space Launch Complex-6, launch site for Delta IV rockets. The day's highlight will occur at the end, when we'll be treated to a photo opportunity at Space Launch Complex-2, near the Delta II rocket that'll be launching very early the next morning with the NPP spacecraft aboard. I'll be tweeting occasionally but expect to be letting other participants do a lot of the commentary; you can follow the whole thing using the #NASATweetup hashtag.

I imagine there'll be some socializing and very little sleep before the planned launch at 2:48 Friday morning. The Tweetup participants will be viewing the launch from the same spot as the rest of the public. One hour after launch, NPP should be separated from the second stage, in its orbit, communicating with Earth!

Here's a timeline of the launch milestones: