A Few Hours On The Road
With Lt. Nyota Uhura from Star Trek
Well … not the character but the delightful person who first acted her part, Nichelle Nichols.
We might as well have been in space! It was blacker than black outside and there were few lights in evidence since traffic was light. It was a clear night full of stars, and Space was on our minds because we were on our way to view the launch of a Delta rocket from Vandenberg AFB near Lompoc, CA. It was easy to imagine we might be in space on this trip with Lt Nyota Uhura driving the car/shuttle craft.
It started with a last minute phone call, somewhere in the mid ’80s, from a friend in the space-nut community, “Would I be interested in a trip to watch a Delta rocket launch?” Basic information followed, “we would be traveling in a small group riding with Nichelle Nichols, who had played Lt. Uhura from Star Trek.” She was excited to get the chance to watch a launch and was offering to drive. Of course I was interested, and the late night hours wouldn’t be a problem.
The trip North took about 2 hours up Hwy 101 and then another 18 miles west on Hwy 1 out to Lompoc where we would find a suitable viewing location. We were supposed to coordinate with a few others who were already in Lompoc. I think one of the persons on the trip had been to one or more launches before and had…
