The Opal ops team makes first contact with Opal post launch.
 
 

A toast to caffeine, the enable of early morning contacts!

A view of the computer terminal during ops. The graphic on the lower right shows Opal over the Pacific west of South America heading north. The window on top displays tracking information. The window on the lower left is the Opal contact window where communication will take place.

Oliver XXX from the Emerald team watches during operations.

Here's a closeup of the graphic window showing Opal's location. The white circle around Opal is called the footprint and displays the section of Earth that can see Opal. The red dot above Opal is the Stanford ground station. The set of curving lines represents Opal's predicted path.

Another closeup of the map.

Another view of the ops display. It's near impossible to read but the lower left window is showing communication with Opal. The second to last line of test on the window is a beacon from Opal. The last line is the command to connect to Opal.

A little closer view of the window that is finally readable. This is the first "WELCOME TO OPAL" message received from a space-borne Opal!

The Opal ops team prepares for the first high elevation pass at Stanford after launch. Greg Hutchins and Corina Hu wait anxiously at 5am in the morning.

Greg, Corina, and Zsolt Kiraly wait for the first Opal pass after launch. Contacts were also made down in Lompoc, CA near VAFB by Jamie.

Greg, Zsolt, and Jamie talk via the computer planning strategy for the next Opal pass.

The secret to the early morning passes...caffeine.