America’s first space weatherman gets to say “Go!” again
John Meisenheimer, the launch weather officer who gave the go-ahead for the first successful American satellite launch, Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958, was honored at the 60th anniversary of that first launch by having him to give the go-ahead for GovSat 1, launched on January 31, 2018.
The story is very touching, especially because Meisenheimer had scrubbed the Explorer 1 launch twice previously because he did not trust the weather. In 1958 he alone had that power, and no one questioned it. When the rocket flew, it was because he had decided the weather was no longer an issue.
John Meisenheimer, the launch weather officer who gave the go-ahead for the first successful American satellite launch, Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958, was honored at the 60th anniversary of that first launch by having him to give the go-ahead for GovSat 1, launched on January 31, 2018.
The story is very touching, especially because Meisenheimer had scrubbed the Explorer 1 launch twice previously because he did not trust the weather. In 1958 he alone had that power, and no one questioned it. When the rocket flew, it was because he had decided the weather was no longer an issue.